What are considered ‘reasonable business grounds’ when refusing a flexible work request?

In a recent turn of events, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) favoured a Catholic school’s decision to refuse its religious education coordinator’s flexible work request to return to her position on a part-time basis. The school said they could not accommodate the request but offered a lower-paid teaching position. The coordinator challenged this with the FWC.

Why did the FWC favour the employer instead of the employee?

Background

The coordinator had recently returned from parental leave and requested for a part-time role because she wanted to take care of her child since her husband and mother had work commitments.

What were the reasons given for refusal by the school?

The school refused the request as:

· It was not in the best interests of students

· It would increase the workload for the other roles in the school

· Significantly increase costs for the school

· The request had it been accepted would require the school to appoint three more teachers to cover a single class.

Did the school provide any alternative arrangements to the coordinator?

Yes, the school provided several alternative arrangements, including allowing the coordinator to temporarily work as a part-time classroom teacher until she could return to her full-time role.

This would mean that she could still earn a majority of the income she would have received had the school accepted her part-time request.

Therefore, we can clearly see that since the school had given ‘reasonable grounds’ and followed certain steps, the FWC backed the school’s request.

Let’s take a look at the other examples of ‘reasonable business grounds’:

·       Cost: If the requested arrangement is too costly for the employer

·       Capacity: If there is no capacity to change the working arrangements of other employees based on the request.

·       Practicality: If it is impractical to take on new employees to accommodate the request.

·       Inefficiency or impact: If the request is likely to cause significant loss in efficiency.

What are the steps to be taken while refusing a request?

An employer while refusing a request must ensure to have taken the following steps:

·       Discuss the request with the employee.

·       Try to reach an agreement on alternative arrangements with the employee.

·       If the employer refuses the request, then they should consider the consequences of the refusal.

It is important to note, that if the employer does not give a reasonable ground to the employee or follow certain steps while refusing the request, the employer will be in breach of the Fair Work Act.

This article is general in nature and is not legal advice. If you need help dealing with working arrangements with employees, or require assistance with updating your workplace contracts, procedures and policies or another employment law matter, Voice Lawyers can assist you.

We help people navigate the complexities of the Fair Work Act and workplace laws with confident, practical advice. You can contact us at office@voicelawyers.com, or give us a call at 02 9261 1954 or use the link on our website to book a consultation to speak with one of our lawyers.

By Kayte Lewis and Tabitha Reji