Victorian Premier launches push to make work from home legal right
The state government is promising to introduce the law — covering both public and private sectors — by next year, with it applying to anyone who can 'reasonably' carry out their work away from the office.
Ms Allan will tell the annual state Labor conference: 'Working from home works for families and it's good for the economy.
'Day after day, unions are being contacted by workers who have been denied reasonable requests to work from home, and across the country, Liberals are drawing up plans to abolish work-from-home and force workers back to the office and back to the past.
'That's why the Allan Labor government is acting. Enshrining work from home in law means this life-changing practice isn't something you or your loved ones have to politely ask for. It's a right you'll be entitled to.'
She will add that a consultation will take place on the proposed Australia-first law, but added it won't determine if the plans should go ahead.
'We're already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it,' she said.
Ms Allan said the new policy is aimed directly at supporting families, promising average savings of $110 per week, or $5308 annually in commuting costs.
'Work from home supports women with children, carers and people with a disability to work,' Ms Allan said.
'Thanks to work from home, workforce participation is 4.4 per cent higher than before the pandemic.'
The legislation is expected to be introduced later this year.
The move follows significant debate about work from home policies during the federal election, with Peter Dutton forced to backtrack on a proposed policy to limit remote work for public servants due to public backlash.
Originally published as Victorians could soon have the right to work from home two days a week
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