WORK/LIFE BALANCE

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The United Services Union works to negotiate all forms of Work/Life Balance options.  Many options are negotiated by the Union through Consultative Committees, Enterprise Agreements and employee requests.

If you are interested in Work/Life Balance Options contact your Delegate or Organiser or if you are not a member of the USU and are interested in joining visit our join page.

Flexible Work Arrangements Section 65 Fair Work Act

Flexible Working Arrangements have become increasingly popular over the years and rightly so. 

Flexible Working Arrangements allow employees to balance family, carer and other responsibilities and interests alongside their work commitments and career goals.

Flexible working arrangements may include flexible working hours, part-time work, changes to patterns of work, changes to hours of work, changes to locations of work, home based work and job sharing.

Many employees report being more productive and engaged in their work when they have the ability to balance the competing demands of work with other aspects of their private lives.

Section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“FWA”) provides that an employee who has been employed with the same employer on a continuous basis for at least 12 months is eligible to make a request for flexible working arrangements in the following circumstances;

  • The employee is a parent, or has responsibility of the care, of a child who is school age or younger
  • The employee is a carer (within the meaning of the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
  • The employee has a disability
  • The employee is 55 years or older
  • The employee is experiencing family or domestic violence from a member of the employees family or
  • The employee provides care or support to a member of the employees immediate family, or a member if the employees household, who requires care or support because of family or domestic violence.

Notably, Long term Casual Employees who have been working with the same employer and who have a reasonable expectation of continuing employment on a regular and systematic basis, may also make a request for flexible working arrangements.

If an eligible employee makes a request for flexible working arrangements, they are required to do so in writing in accordance with the Fair Work Act, and set out the details and reasons for the changes requested.

Employers must now upon receiving the request first discuss the request with the employee to try and reach an agreement about the changes to the employees working conditions, taking into consideration;

  • The needs of the employee
  • Consequences for the employee if changes in working arrangements aren’t made
  • Any reasonable business grounds for refusing the employee’s request.

The employer then has 21 days upon receipt of the request to provide a written response to the employee stating whether the request has been approved or refused on reasonable business grounds.

If the employer refuses the request they must include the reasons for the refusal.

Section 65 of the Fair Work Act provides examples of what “reasonable Business grounds” may include for the purposes of refusing a request.  Which include;

  • The requested arrangements would be too costly for the employer
  • There is no capacity to change the working arrangements of other employees to accommodate the new working arrangements requested
  • It would be impractical to change the working arrangements of other employees or recruit new employees to accommodate the new working arrangements requested by the employee
  • The new working arrangements requested by the employee would likely result in a significant loss in efficiency or productivity or
  • The new working arrangements requested by the employee would likely to have a significant negative impact on customer service.

If the employee is not satisfied that the employer has followed the above process, they are entitled to raise a dispute in accordance with their award or enterprise agreement which allows the Fair Work Commission to try to resolve the dispute through mediation or conciliation.

If you are considering making a request for Flexible Working Arrangements or want to know more about the process, please speak to your USU Organiser of our help desk on 1300 136 604.

If you are not a member of the union and want to know more about joining, visit our join page or speak to our Support Team on 1300 136 604.

 

 

Why work-life balance matters to Millennials

In a 2016 Millennial Survey conducted by Deloitte it was reported that 16.8% of Millennials evaluate career opportunities by a good work-life balance.

For many Millennials, success is viewed by having control over how and when they work as well as accumulating various life experiences, both of which are enabled by a better work-life balance.

Of course the right balance for singles will change if they marry and have children.

  • A global study conducted by Ernst & Young found that Millennials and particularly Millennials who are parents are so serious about finding work-life balance that they are willing to relocate if it means that can move to a position that offers it.
  • Millennials are the first generation to enter the workforce with access to technology that enables them to capitalise on new technological capabilities to create more flexibility and in turn create a better work-life balance.
  • Nearly one third of Millennials highlighted in EU’s Global Generation Report that managing their work, family and personal responsibilities had become more difficult in the past five years.

Some businesses are looking at various initiatives to achieve productivity while also providing work-life balance. One initiative is through “standardised outputs and values”. This is where the employer and employee agree on goals and core values then leave the employee to complete their work in whatever way that suits them.

Of course this initiative isn’t feasible for all types of businesses so achieving work-life balance is about finding arrangements that suit the employee and the business needs.

Experts also say that a few small steps can go a long way toward staying sane at work and at home.

Work-life balance initiatives that can be negotiated

The United Services Union works to negotiate all forms of work-life balance options. Many options are negotiated by the Union through Consultative Committees, Enterprise Agreements and employee requests.

Flexible Leave policies – these policies can consider such options as taking annual leave and or long service leave at double the time but at half pay. Some offer career breaks where you can take time off (perhaps to travel for a year) but have a job to come back to.
 
Foster a Healthy Work Environment – Work can contribute to many health problems especially if employees spend most of their time sitting. Employers can offer employees standing desks if they are interested, or they could offer company sponsored gym memberships or other healthy activities such as after-hours yoga. Employers should also consider creating spaces within the workplace for employees can relax and find quiet.
 
Job Share and Part Time Work – Some employees may be unable to commit to a full time job but could contribute at half time. Employers could look into whether that could be achieved through part time work or job share with another employee. This arrangement works well for working mum’s or employees working towards retirement.
 
Rostered Days off – A rostered day off (RDO) is a day in a roster period where an employee doesn’t have to work. RDO’s are generally negotiated as part of an Enterprise Agreement or Award or a roster arrangement in the workplace.
 
Flexitime – By allowing employees to have flexible work hours such as flexitime or Toil (time off in lieu), is another way to encourage a healthy work life balance. Flexible work arrangements like this allows employees to have a life outside of work as well. They can get their work completed while also being able to do the things they require to get done outside of work.
 
Work from Home – This attractive option allows employees the opportunity to be set up and work from their own home. This option is common within large organisations with Contact Centre workers largely due to the fact that there are constraint options in contact centres however many organisations also offer this as a form of work-life balance options. Some other organisations also offer a balance for employees where they can work from home some days and come into the office on others.
 
Paid Paternity Leave – While there are government paid paternity leave schemes, unions have been successful in many workplaces to have negotiated paid paternity leave. This allows employees to extend their time off through utilising the company leave as well as the government leave thus allowing new parents more time to bond with their babies.
 
Flexible Work Arrangements – Section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009 allows for some employees to negotiate a flexible working arrangement with their employer which may include;
  • Changes in working arrangements
  • Changes in hours of work
  • Changes in patterns of work
  • Changes in location of work
Employees are eligible in accordance with section 65 of the Fair Work Act if they;
  • Are a parent or have responsibility of the care of a school aged child or younger
  • Are a carer for someone within the meaning of the Carer Recognition Act 2010
  • Have a disability
  • Are 55 years or older
  • Are experiencing violence from a member of the employee’s family
  • Provide care and/or support to a member of the employee’s immediate family or a member of the employee’s household who require care or support because the member is experiencing violence from the member’s family.

If you are interested in Work/Life Balance Options contact your Delegate or Organiser or if you are not a member of the USU and are interested in joining visit our join page.

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