Flexible working rights
By Max Berry | theage.com.au | 13 July
Employees will be guaranteed a right to request flexible working arrangements under the National Employment Standards, the first major element in a new set of work rules that replaces WorkChoices.
After considering 129 submissions on a draft issued in February, the Federal Government has published the National Employment Standards that will become the new minimum working conditions for employees in the federal system - including all Victorian workers - from January 2010.
The 10 standards cover:
*Maximum weekly hours of work;
*Request for flexible working arrangements;
*Parental leave and related entitlements;
*Annual leave;
*Personal/carer's leave and compassionate leave;
*Community service leave;
*Long service leave;
*Public holidays;
*Notice of termination and redundancy pay;
*Fair work information statement.
Reactions from unions and employers have been cautiously positive, reflecting the need to see - in 18 months' time - just how terms such as "reasonable" are translated into workplace reality.
The 50-page document setting out the new safety net explains that the right to request flexible working arrangements applies to employees with a child under school age who have worked for the employer for at least 12 months before the request. Examples of revised working arrangements include different hours, patterns and locations of work.
The request has to be made in writing, as must the employer's response, which needs to be given within 21 days. The request may be refused "only on reasonable business grounds", with the reasons for refusal included in the response.
Workers are also guaranteed the right - under community service leave - to time off work for emergency activities such as fighting bushfires. This also enshrines leave for jury duty.
Unions have welcomed the new (unpaid) parental leave rights, which allow each member of a couple to be off work for 12 months after the birth of their child, providing two years' parental care. But the push for paid maternity leave continues.
While the standards do not take effect until2010, they will form the basis of a national IR system.
First published by TheAge.com.au on July 13 2008
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