Ambulance Victoria, who employed Ms Fyfe as a paramedic, denied the request on what they claimed were reasonable grounds. Their reasoning was the requested shift arrangement did not exist, and they couldn’t alter shift times.
Ms Fyfe went through an internal dispute process with Ambulance Victoria, after which she applied to the FWC to deal with the dispute (under section 739 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act)).
The FWC found that Ambulance Victoria did not have reasonable grounds for rejecting the request. They stated that Ambulance Victoria did not genuinely attempt to provide alternatives. They did not discuss the matter with Ms Fyfe before the request was denied.
With the new amendments in the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms on 6 June 2023, employers will face stricter conditions for determining reasonable grounds to deny a flexible work arrangement. It’s up to the employer to stay up-to-date with the latest in legislative changes.
Find out what changes the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Amendment will introduce here.
You can visit the Fair Work Ombudman website to learn more about Flexible Work Arrangements.
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