A proposal for flexible working arrangements to cover all APS employees is now being considered by unions and Employee Bargaining Representatives as APS-wide bargaining continues.
Issuing an update, the Australian Public Sector Commission’s (APSC) Workplace Relations Bargaining Taskforce said the proposal put forward last week by the APSC included extensions to existing entitlements to allow flexible work requests for any reason.
The Taskforce said the proposal also included a condition that Agencies would be expected to genuinely consider and respond to all flexible work requests from their employees.
“The proposed entitlement won’t include a cap on the number of day’s employees can request to work from home,” the Taskforce said.
“Instead, Agencies will be required to consider what arrangements are appropriate in their agency, taking into account that agencies and their employees know their operating environment and job types the best.”
It said that if an Agency was unable to accommodate a flexible work request, there would be a clear process outlined for Agencies to follow, and a requirement to genuinely try to find alternative arrangements to accommodate the employee’s circumstances.
“You have told us a common approach to flexible work is one of the most important items to APS employees,” the Taskforce said.
“Following productive discussions, we are confident we can reach a positive outcome for both APS Agencies and employees on this matter,” it said.
“Further discussions on flexible working arrangements will occur in future meetings, particularly around what a common term for inclusion in an enterprise agreement might look like.”
