Proposed changes to employee flexible work arrangements

As workers have returned to the office and other workplaces in the year since the pandemic, many have wondered whether they have a legal right to work from home. More broadly, parents, carers and other workers often consider whether they have a similar right to flexible working arrangements. We deal with those issues in this article.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic changed business and personal attitudes towards remote work, working from home, and flexible work arrangements more generally. During 2020 and 2021, millions of Australian workers worked remotely on a regular basis due to the pandemic.

In late October 2022, the Federal Government introduced draft legislation that would strengthen a worker's right to flexible work arrangements.