Fair Work slaps down Aussie dad's WFH request to help care for school-aged kids in bombshell workplace ruling

News.com.au

4 days ago

A Sydney dad has failed in a legal bid to force his employer to let him work from home twice a week so he could help care for his school-age children.
Sydney father Paul Collins, a technical specialist at global software company Intersystems Australia, lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission (FWC) seeking flexible working arrangements after attempts to reach a compromise failed.
Intersystems operates an online record system in Australia known as TrakCare, utilised by healthcare providers to allow the sharing of health information between facilities and organisations.
Mr Collins submitted a formal request to the company in January to work from home every Wednesday and Thursday - citing the need to care for his children, aged 8 and 10, and the need for 'work-life balance'.
Until late 2024, Mr Collins had been working remotely on both these days under a hybrid working model adopted by Intersystems following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In November that same year, the company announced it was ending this arrangement and staff would need to return to the office five days a week from February 2025.
Mr Collins' request was denied, but Intersystems offered an alternate arrangement of one work-from-home day per week.
This was rejected and Mr Collins escalated the dispute to the FWC.
In her judgment on Monday, FWC deputy president Lyndall Dean said she was not satisfied Mr Collins had established the 'requisite nexus' between his responsibility as a parent and the change he was seeking in his work arrangements.
She said his written request 'merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work' and did not specify how working from home twice a week 'specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities'.
Mr Collins had conceded in cross-examination that he had no specific caring duties between his work hours of 9am-5pm.
He was also able to share responsibility for school drop-offs and pick-ups through existing flexibility arrangements, the Commission ruled.
'In my view, the Respondent made genuine attempts to engage with the Applicant's request, including offering alternative arrangements such as working shorter hours on specific days,' Ms Dean said.
'The Applicant gave no explanation as to why these alternatives were unsuitable.
'Accordingly, the request was not validly made, and the Commission lacks jurisdiction to deal with the dispute.'
Mr Collins had argued the company had failed to give individual consideration to his circumstances, as members of Intersystems' development team were permitted to work remotely.
He pointed to his prior work arrangement in the years before and how it did not affect his 'productivity, availability, or overall performance'.
Intersystems, however, said it had provided 'reasonable and sound business reasons' for not approving Mr Collins' initial request.
The company maintained their position that employees were required to work from the office to 'facilitate the exchange of information' and allow for faster decision making and enhance customer service delivery.
According to a 2024 user survey by Intersystems, there was a 28 per cent decline in customer satisfaction - prompting management to put the changes into effect.