Flexible work requests are becoming increasingly common across all industries, from office environments to industrial operations, healthcare, and frontline services. Knowing what to do when staff request flexible work can be the difference between smooth business operations and a dispute.
While flexibility can feel challenging in operational workplaces, recent decisions from the Fair Work Commission reinforce to employers must approach flexible work requests carefully, consistently, and with clear evidence to support any decision. Understanding both the legal framework and the practical implications for your business is critical.
When Can Employees Request Flexible Work?
Under the Fair Work Act, eligible employees can request changes to their working arrangements if they meet qualifying criteria and the request relates to recognised circumstances. These include:
- Caring responsibilities
- Pregnancy
- Disability
- Age (55 or older)
- Experiencing family and domestic violence
Importantly, the requested change must be connected to those circumstances, not simply based on personal preference. A request driven by genuine caring responsibilities will be assessed differently to one based purely on convenience.
Employers may only refuse a request on reasonable business grounds, and employees can escalate disputes to the Fair Work Commission if they believe a refusal is unjustified.
What Do Recent Decisions Tell Us?
Recent Commission decisions highlight several consistent themes.
First, blanket refusals based solely on policy (for example, “we require all staff onsite” or “our model is fully office-based”) carry risk. Employers must genuinely consider each request on its individual merits.
Second, general statements about productivity, supervision, customer impact or operational inconvenience are not sufficient. If refusal is based on business impact, there must be evidence, such as:
- Safety requirements.
- Client or patient coverage needs.
- Supervision obligations.
- Shift coverage or rostering gaps.
- Increased labour or operational costs.
Where employers have failed to properly engage with requests or provide clear reasoning, refusals have not been upheld.
What Does Flexibility Look Like in Different Workplaces?
Flexibility does not always mean full-time remote work. Depending on your industry, flexibility may involve:
- Adjusted start or finish times.
- Compressed work weeks.
- Part-time arrangements.
- Temporary roster adjustments.
- Modified duties.
- Hybrid or partial remote work.
The Commission expects employers to consider whether alternative arrangements are possible, even if the exact request cannot be accommodated. Simply dismissing a request without exploring options increases legal risk.
At the same time, operational realities matter. In environments where physical presence is essential – such as healthcare, manufacturing, construction or client-facing roles – those requirements are legitimate considerations, provided they are clearly explained and supported.
Why Does Process Matters?
Even where refusal may ultimately be justified, the way the request is handled is critical.
Employers should:
- Meet with the employee to discuss the request.
- Seek clarification where needed.
- Assess operational impact objectively.
- Consider alternative arrangements.
- Provide clear written reasons for any refusal.
- Keep clear documentation of each step of the process (if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen). Learn more about the importance of record keeping here.
A rushed or dismissive approach can undermine an otherwise reasonable decision. Clear, evidence-based documentation is essential should a dispute arise. Process is matters just as much as outcome.
FairWork have a great resource on best practice when navigating flexibel work requests, check it out here.
How to Balancing Flexibility and Business Operations?
Flexible work provisions are not designed to prevent businesses from operating effectively. They are intended to ensure that genuine requests are fairly considered.
Handled well, flexible work discussions can improve engagement, retention and workplace culture. Handled poorly, they can escalate into formal disputes and reputational risk.
The key is balance: operational practicality supported by evidence, combined with fair, transparent decision-making.
How ProcessWorx Can Support You
The ProcessWorx team supports employers across office, industrial and healthcare environments to assess flexible work requests, document reasonable business grounds, and ensure decisions comply with employment law.
If you’d like support managing a flexible work request or reviewing your HR processes, contact us on (08) 9316 9896 or email enquiries@processworx.com.au.
