People managers in organisations making this year's Workplace Gender Equality Agency employer of choice list have for the first time had to train-up on flexible working arrangements and how to deal with resistance to gender equality objectives.
Victoria's Andrews Labor Government will later this week remove its longstanding COVID-19 public health recommendation to work from home if possible, after a big drop in virus-related hospitalisations and a substantial rise in vaccination third-doses.
The "no enhancements" clause in the Federal public sector's bargaining policy could stymie the adoption of WFH provisions in Australian Public Service enterprise agreements, according to the CPSU's national secretary.
The NSW IRC has rejected a nurse's bid for a flexible working arrangement under the State public sector's "if not, why not" regime to enable her to meet her caring responsibilities.
An IR specialist has told a labour law conference that if employees can demonstrate it will not reduce productivity or service, it might become increasingly difficult for employers to validly refuse flexibility requests for four-day working weeks.
A Productivity Commission-convened work from home seminar has heard how employers are managing the challenges of "hybrid workplaces", dealing with potential OHS and management issues and rethinking how they bring people together.
The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned five distinct work-from-home models, according to the authors of a FWC-commissioned study that found formal policies and relatively fixed hours are key to a successful WFH strategy.
The more than one million retail workers need more stable rosters, better pay and greater job security, along with flexible and affordable childcare, to enable them to meet their caring responsibilities, according to a new university study commissioned by the SDA.
The insights gained from the rapid shift to working from home during COVID-19 could lead to the adoption of a "genuine consultation" requirement under the Fair Work Act's "right to request" flexibility that might start "a conversation aimed at reaching a mutually suitable arrangement", according to a new paper by two leading IR academics.
Most negotiations between employers and employees on working from home arrangements will remain outside the formal IR system, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission.
