Fair Work Commission To Assess Remote Work Rights For Office Workers

Australia's Fair Work Commission will examine the rights of clerical workers in the private sector to opt for work from home, with the first hearing scheduled for Sept. 13.

"It is readily apparent that the provision of awards which apply to industry sectors where working from home is most prevalent, such as the Clerks Award, do not necessarily match the practical arrangements by which employees work at home in actuality," the commission stated, according to News.com.

The agency announced Thursday it will develop a term that will cover the work from home (WFH) section, which comes under the Clerks— Private Sector Award 2020, and later extend it to other sections of the workforce.

The workers union had been advocating for WFH rights for award-earning workers.

The probe will address eight key questions, such as how WFH should be defined, should employees be given legal right to request for WFH, and how overtime should be authorized and calculated, reported Sky News.

Last year, the commission had reviewed whether the current rules were suitable for work-from-home employees.

"Working from home has been raised as an important issue relevant to balancing work and care and job security in other streams of this Review. So we consider that award facilitation of access to working at home arrangements is a matter which requires priority consideration," the review said.

At present, most companies and the public sector have mandated the staff return to their workplaces.

Earlier this month, the NSW government revoked the WFH option for public servants, notifying administrative agencies to ensure that the staff worked at approved workstations on all week days.

"These outcomes are supported by employees working principally at their approved workplace," the notice had stated. "The more our experience of work is shared, the more united we become. This means being physically present in our organizations."