Accommodating family responsibilities at work

Some parents may be trying to work out how they will manage changes to their usual child care arrangements when they head back to work in 2009.

This is a good time for employers and employees to make sure they are aware of their rights and obligations when it comes to negotiating flexible arrangements to accommodate family responsibilities.

Changes to the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act introduced in September 2008 mean that employers need to seriously consider any request for flexible work arrangements for staff members who have children or people who depend on them for care.

Examples of flexible work arrangements include starting and finishing earlier or later, working part-time, working from home or extending unpaid leave where paid leave has been exhausted.

Circumstances that may be relevant to determining whether a refusal is or is not reasonable include:

• the nature of the employee’s work and family or carer responsibilities;
• the nature and cost of the arrangements required for an employee to fulfil their family or carer responsibilities;
• the financial circumstances of the employer;
• the size and nature of the workplace and the employer’s business;
• the effect of the flexible work arrangements on the workplace, including the financial impact on the business;
• the consequences for the employer of having the flexible work arrangements; and
• the consequences for the employee of not having the flexible work arrangements.

An employee who believes that their employer has unreasonably refused a request for flexibility because of their parental responsibilities can make a complaint of discrimination to the Victorian Equal Opportunity &Human Rights Commission.

The Federal Government is planning to introduce similar laws from 2010.

A scenario for employees making a request for flexible work

Mei is a qualified barista at a small coffee shop. The shop is open from 7am to 4pm. The peak time for coffee sales is from 7am to 11am and 12.30pm to 2pm.

Mei asks her employer whether she can start at 9am so that she can care for her son before his babysitter arrives at their home. Mei’s employer considers her request.

If Mei changes her work arrangements there will be no-one skilled enough to make the coffees from 7am to 9am. The cost to train another employee to qualify as a barista would be $20,000 and the annual profit for the business is $180,000. Mei’s employer calculates that Mei’s request is not financially viable.

He explains to Mei the reasons for being unable to meet her request and they discuss other options. Mei suggests that she can train another employee to cover the 7am to 9am period. Her employer agrees to a trial period reviewed after three months.

Further information

More information about rights and obligations around requesting flexibility are set out in Family Responsibilities: Guidelines for Employers and Employees published by Industrial Relations Victoria (now Workforce Victoria) and the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.

More information about rights and obligations around pregnancy and maternity leave are set out in Pregnancy and work: your rights and obligations – a guide for Employees and Pregnancy and work: your rights and obligations – a guide for Employers to be published in early January 2009 by Workforce Victoria, Job Watch (a community legal centre funded by the Victorian Government) and the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.