Latest news with #flexibleworking
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Fair Work slaps down Aussie dad's WFH request to help care for school-aged kids in bombshell workplace ruling
A Sydney dad has failed in a legal bid to force his employer to let him work from home twice a week so he could help care for his school-age children. Sydney father Paul Collins, a technical specialist at global software company Intersystems Australia, lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) seeking flexible working arrangements after attempts to reach a compromise failed. Intersystems operates an online record system in Australia known as TrakCare, utilised by healthcare providers to allow the sharing of health information between facilities and organisations. Mr Collins submitted a formal request to the company in January to work from home every Wednesday and Thursday - citing the need to care for his children, aged 8 and 10, and the need for 'work-life balance'. Until late 2024, Mr Collins had been working remotely on both these days under a hybrid working model adopted by Intersystems following the Covid-19 pandemic. In November that same year, the company announced it was ending this arrangement and staff would need to return to the office five days a week from February 2025. Mr Collins' request was denied, but Intersystems offered an alternate arrangement of one work-from-home day per week. This was rejected and Mr Collins escalated the dispute to the FWC. In her judgment on Monday, FWC deputy president Lyndall Dean said she was not satisfied Mr Collins had established the 'requisite nexus' between his responsibility as a parent and the change he was seeking in his work arrangements. She said his written request 'merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work' and did not specify how working from home twice a week 'specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities'. Mr Collins had conceded in cross-examination that he had no specific caring duties between his work hours of 9am-5pm. He was also able to share responsibility for school drop-offs and pick-ups through existing flexibility arrangements, the Commission ruled. 'In my view, the Respondent made genuine attempts to engage with the Applicant's request, including offering alternative arrangements such as working shorter hours on specific days,' Ms Dean said. 'The Applicant gave no explanation as to why these alternatives were unsuitable. 'Accordingly, the request was not validly made, and the Commission lacks jurisdiction to deal with the dispute.' Mr Collins had argued the company had failed to give individual consideration to his circumstances, as members of Intersystems' development team were permitted to work remotely. He pointed to his prior work arrangement in the years before and how it did not affect his 'productivity, availability, or overall performance'. Intersystems, however, said it had provided 'reasonable and sound business reasons' for not approving Mr Collins' initial request. The company maintained their position that employees were required to work from the office to 'facilitate the exchange of information' and allow for faster decision making and enhance customer service delivery. According to a 2024 user survey by Intersystems, there was a 28 per cent decline in customer satisfaction - prompting management to put the changes into effect.
Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Angela Rayner's civil servants protest after work from home ban
Angela Rayner's civil servants have launched an indefinite 'work to rule' campaign after being told they cannot work from home. Officials in the deputy prime minister's department launched the industrial action after being told they had to work from the office, as well as the scrapping of 'location-neutral' contracts. They are understood to be particularly aggrieved because Rayner has spearheaded the government's reforms to workers' rights, which will include the right to request flexible working, such as working from home. Under the changes, bosses have to accept flexible working requests except where 'it is not reasonably feasible' and must provide a justification. Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has backed the Employment Rights Bill — which will enshrine the new rights in law — but said on Thursday his government 'gets the concerns' the measures have caused.
News.com.au
23-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Australians caught up in new ‘infinite workday' trend
Advancements in technology have been heralded as a game changer when it comes to flexible working. Forgot to respond to an important email? No need to trudge back to the office to log onto your computer, you can just do it from your phone. What once would have required an in person meeting is now a Zoom call and the rise of remote work means employees are saving countless hours each week they would have otherwise spent commuting. While there is no doubt all of these things have had a positive impact when it comes to the way people work, we are now starting to see the flexibility scales tip so far that it is actually having a negative impact on work-life balance. Being able to send of a quick email after hours has turned into scrolling through your inbox as soon as you wake up. Having access to virtual meetings now means being asked to jump on a call at 8pm and being able to work from anywhere has turned into being expected to work at any time. This phenomenon has been dubbed the 'infinite workday', with Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report revealing just how widespread it has become. An analysis of data from users of Microsoft 365 services found a series of disturbing changes in the way people are working around the world. In describing the chaos of the seemingly infinite workday trend, the report noted that 'it starts early, mostly in email, and quickly swells to a focus-sapping flood of messages, meetings, and interruptions'. A whopping 40 per cent of users who are online at 6am are reviewing emails, with the average worker receiving 117 emails a day, the report found. By 8am, Microsoft Teams overtakes email as the dominant communication channel, with the average worker receiving 153 Teams messages a day, a 6 per cent year on year increase globally. Microsoft found that, during a standard eight-hour shift, the average worker is interrupted every two minutes by either an email, chat notification or meeting, adding up to 275 times a day. Speaking to Bryan Stallings, Chief Evangelist at Lucid Software, said, if left unchecked, this type of fragmentation will have a severe impact on workplaces across Australia and the rest of the world. 'The consequences of this systemic chaos are taking a toll on Australian workers,' Mr Stallings said. 'Left unchecked, this 'infinite workday' won't boost output. Instead, it leads to disengaged employees, crippling innovation due to a dwindling capacity for deep work, and a workforce unable to truly adapt at 'the speed of business', as research warns. 'This unsustainable model demands a fundamental shift towards intentional design that moves away from accidental chaos and towards visual clarity in how we work.' With employees receiving all these interruptions during the standard work day, you might be wondering, when does this leave time for any actual work to be done? The answer is, it doesn't. Which is why an increasing number of employees are logging back on at night so they can focus on their work without being interrupted. Microsoft found that, for remote workers, they often see evening hours as a productive window to catch up on work, but hybrid workers are more likely to experience that same time as a source of stress. The research found that meetings after 8pm are up 16 per cent year on year and the average employee now recited more than 50 messages outside of core business hours, By 10pm, 29 per cent of active workers are back in their inboxes trying to get on top of the influx of emails. Work is also spilling over into the weekend, with the data showing almost 20 per cent of employees actively working on the weekend are checking their email before noon on Saturday and Sunday. It is clear that boundaries are quickly eroding, with one in three employees saying the pace of work over the past five years makes it impossible to keep up. 'This points to a larger truth: the modern workday for many has no clear start or finish,' the report states. 'As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity.' Ending the infinite workday isn't just about individual workers putting boundaries in place to protect their work-life balance. While its vital to have personal limits, Mr Stallings pointed out they are often 'rendered ineffective by broken systems', with the primary responsibility of addressing these issues lying with executive leadership. He said that senior management must shift focus from where work gets done to how it gets done. Recent research from Lucid has revealed the systematic roadblocks facing Australian employers, with 35 per cent citing a lack of standardisation and 34 per cent pointing to insufficient automation. The data showed that only 31 per cent of Australians have been trained on effective hybrid collaboration, leaving room for communication breakdown. 'Expecting Aussies to set boundaries in a chaotic system without executive leadership's intentional design also erodes psychological safety,' Mr Stallings said. 'Often, management talks about a sustainable pace while inadvertently rewarding 'hero' behaviours that undermine work-life balance, sending deeply conflicting signals.' The Microsoft research points to artificial intelligence as one of the tools that can be used to help redesign the rhythm of work and give people their time back. However, when it comes to Aussie workplaces, there is a still a major literacy gap when it comes to using AI effectively. Kade Brown, Workforce Solutions Director at RMIT Online, told that, because of the rapid pace of AI advancement outstripping traditional education, many Australians are missing the skills needed to confidently prompt, apply and evaluate using AI tools at work. 'AI offers powerful opportunities to boost productivity by streamlining repetitive tasks and freeing up individuals for more strategic, creative work,' he said. 'We need to use AI intentionally, set healthy boundaries, and ensure it enhances (not replaces) human judgment.' In order to thrive in the evolving AI landscape, Mr Brown said people need to embrace a lifelong learning mindset. PwC has estimated AI will contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with Mr Brown noting that, for those ready to adapt, the 'potential for transformation is enormous'. 'For the individual, staying curious, continuously upskilling, and building digital confidence are now essential,' he said. 'Businesses that invest in training, particularly in areas like AI literacy, won't just keep pace, they'll lead.'
Arabian Business
15-06-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Dubai announces 4-day week and flexible hours for some workers
The Dubai Government has announced new working hour rules for employees. Flexible operating hours and a four-day week will be available to some employees throughout the summer as part of an initiative to enhance work-life balance. The Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR) announced the implementation of the 'Our Flexible Summer' initiative across all Dubai Government entities, following the success of its pilot phase in 2024. Dubai flexible working The DGHR said: 'Aimed at enhancing work-life balance for government employees, the initiative will run from July 1 to September 12, 2025 and will be implemented based on each entity's discretion'. The Government department highlighted that the implementation of the initiative will align with the official five-day working hours and employees will be divided into two groups: The first group will work eight hours from Monday to Thursday and enjoy Friday as a full holiday The second group will work seven hours from Monday to Thursday and 4.5 hours on Friday The Government of Dubai highlighted that the implementation of the initiative will align with the official five-day working hours. Employees will be divided into two groups. The first group will work eight hours from Monday to Thursday and enjoy Friday as a full holiday, while… — Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 15, 2025
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Church sacked accountant for being non-Catholic
A church sacked an accountant after she was discriminated against for not being Catholic, a tribunal has found. University of Cambridge-educated Janet Parker argued with her female boss after she asked for leave to care for her newly adopted daughter. When the 55-year-old's request for flexible working was refused, she complained, observing that 'the Catholic Church does not have a blemish-free history when it comes to adopted children or children in care'. Ms Parker was then subjected to a 'witch hunt' investigation for alleged professional negligence, which led to her dismissal from her £60,000-a-year role. She has now won claims against Clifton Diocese after a tribunal ruled it discriminated against her, harassed her and then unfairly sacked her because she was not religious. Ms Parker, who later told a reporter that she was an atheist, claimed the diocese's approach to her flexible working request was 'tainted by negative views of adoption, emanating from the religious beliefs of its staff'. Disapproval of adoption leave Details of her tribunal claim emerged at a disciplinary hearing, conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW), into abusive messages she sent to Lyn Murray, the diocese chief operating officer, after her dismissal. According to the full judgment – which has not been made public – the hearing in Bristol was told that she had worked at the diocese, which covers the west of England, from February 2015 until her dismissal in October 2021. Ms Parker, described by the tribunal as a 'very intelligent, articulate, and able woman', had been a chartered accountant since 1998 and worked in London at Deloittes and Credit Suisse before moving to the charity sector in 2009. In 2019, her application to adopt a baby girl was approved and in January 2020 she informed Mrs Murray, who she said had previously been supportive, of her intention to take 52 weeks of adoption leave. The tribunal was told: 'Mrs Murray did not react well, arguing that she did not believe that [Ms Parker] could 'go on leave with no notice,' as she described it, and expressed dissatisfaction that [she] would 'do that to her'.' Ms Parker began her leave in September 2020 but the tribunal heard that during her absence, her replacement flagged potential financial irregularities in the accounts for which she had been responsible. Church launched disciplinary investigation In July 2021, Ms Parker had a conversation with Mrs Murray about reducing hours and working from home because she was struggling to find childcare for her daughter. However, her request was refused, and the following month the diocese launched disciplinary proceedings against her before putting her on suspension. Ms Parker responded by issuing a grievance against Mrs Murray, she said: 'This behaviour is not in accordance with the professed beliefs of the Catholic Church. 'I know that the Catholic Church does not have a blemish-free history when it comes to adopted children or children in care, but I hoped that this kind of prejudice had been eradicated long ago. Maybe I am wrong.' The hearing was told that the ICAEW was asked to investigate the allegations against her and eventually found there was insufficient evidence to support the complaints. However, at the conclusion of its investigation, the diocese decided to dismiss her for gross misconduct. The tribunal heard this led to Ms Parker sending an email to Mrs Murray saying: 'There is one thing I always wanted to say to you. Now I can. F--- OFF YOU B---H.' and 'Your god might forgive you but I never will. B---h.' She then put out Facebook posts saying: 'You asked for it and I'm coming for you,' and 'Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, b----es,' – meaning 'don't let the bastards grind you down, b----es' in Latin. 'Witch hunt' Employment Judge Adam Midgley said Ms Parker, as a non Catholic, had been religiously discriminated against. He said: '[She] has argued that from the moment she challenged the [diocese], particularly from the point at which she referenced the Catholic Church's treatment of vulnerable children, her card was marked, and [it] closed ranks to protect itself and dismiss her.' 'Those are very serious allegations. The claimant is required to produce some evidence from which we could, properly directing ourselves, conclude that the reason for the matters she complains of was her religion or belief – ie that she was a non-Catholic.' He described the investigation that led to her dismissal as appearing like 'witch hunt' and said it was 'derisory in its depth, unbalanced and focused on establishing fault'. Ms Parker has yet to receive compensation following the judgment as the diocese is understood to have launched an appeal. Speaking after the ICAEW issued her a caution over the abusive messages, Ms Parker said: 'I wasn't happy with the ICAEW outcome but I suppose it was the best outcome given the situation. I don't think what I did was wrong and I think I just did what probably millions of people around the country want to do when they leave their jobs.'
