Flexible working in the UK versus Australia – We’re a bit behind

With the passing of Australia’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill earlier this month, similarly timed to the UK government’s ‘commitment’ to flexibility, HR Leader looked at the different approaches side by side to see what’s on offer for workers in each country.

UK workplace flexibility

The UK government has revealed its commitment to giving staff the right to ask their employers for flexible working arrangements from the first day of employment.

The current law states that employees in the UK have to wait 26 weeks before being able to ask for flexible working. Under the new laws, workers will be able to ask from day one, make two requests in 12 months, and employers must respond within two months, down from three.

The UK government said in a statement: “Flexible working doesn’t just mean a combination of working from home and in the office – it can mean employees making use of job-sharing, flexitime, and working compressed, annualised, or staggered hours.”

According to the UK government, this news is a win for low paid workers, as 1.5 million people will be allowed greater access to flexibility through this policy and be able to work multiple jobs if they desire.

Minister for Small Business Kevin Hollinrake commented on the announcement: “Giving staff more say over their working pattern makes for happier employees and more productive businesses. Put simply, it’s a no-brainer.

“Greater flexibility over where, when, and how people work is an integral part of our plan to make the UK the best place in the world to work,” he said.

This comes off the back of the CIPD’s #FlexFrom1st campaign, which has been pushing this right for “all employees” and has been championing the cause since February 2021.

Flexibility in Australia

Australia has recently passed the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022. According to the Fair Work Commission, changes to flexible work rights come in on 6 June 2023.

Even with the recent gains in this space in Australia, it’s still a very limited group that it applies to as compared with the UK. Lander and Rogers partner Aaron Goonrey shared with HR Leader: “There is no equivalent in Australia to the UK flexible work arrangements. The UK’s proposed changes to flexible work are very progressive, particularly when compared with Australia’s limited category of employees.”

He added: “With that said, many innovative employers offer their own flexible work policies which are open to most employees. Such polices include requests to work flexibly from the first day of employment as well as working from anywhere. These policies reflect some employers’ initiatives to retain and attract talent.”

As stated by the Fair Work Ombudsman, employees (with additional criteria for casuals) can ask for flexibility after being with an employer for 12 months, and must fall under one of the categories of eligible people:

• Parent
• Carer
• Disabled
• 55 or over
• Experiencing or assisting a loved one in domestic or family violence issue.

Lander and Rogers noted that being pregnant is another reason added to being able to ask for flexible work under the new laws: “Personal circumstances giving rise to a right to request flexible work arrangements will be expanded to include where a member of the employee’s immediate family or household experiences family or domestic violence, or where the employee is pregnant.”

Mr Goonrey told HR Leader: “Employees are now also entitled to 10 days of upfront paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period, which does not accrue. This entitlement replaces the existing entitlement to five days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave under the National Employment Standards. The new leave entitlement will be available from:

• 1 February 2023 for employees of non-small business employers; and
• 1 August 2023 for employees of small business employers.”

“In the UK, there is no equivalent to this type of leave. In 2018, the UK Labour Party had proposed a right to paid leave for employees facing abuse or violence, but there have been no further developments on this front since that time,” said Mr Goonrey.

Clayton Utz has a dedicated space for information on what Secure Jobs, Better Pay means, including a section on the changes to work flexibility. Part of their summary includes that: “The Act builds on the existing rights to request flexible working arrangements under section 65(1A) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) by expanding the circumstances in which an employee may request flexible work arrangements to include situations where an employee, or a member of their immediate family or household experiences ‘family and domestic violence’, as defined in section 106B(2) of the Act.”

For more information, you can view the Fair Work Ombudsman’s article: Pay secrecy, job ads and flexible work.

Note from the editor: Our thanks go to Aaron Goonrey for his assistance with this article in addition to quotes provided above. This article has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as advice (legal or otherwise).