New Year shock

Now, we don’t want to spoil your Christmas dinner or your holiday by the beach, but many employers could be in for a nasty little shock when they return to work in early January.

The second stage of the Rudd Government’s industrial relations reforms come into force on 1 January with the introduction of the National Employment Standards and the Modern Awards.

Today I’ve had a detailed look at the National Employment Standards, which basically set down the minimum conditions that an employer needs to provide.

A lot of it is obvious stuff that is already covered by current law, but there is one big standout change – a legislated right for employees with school age children to request flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work, different working hours or working from home.

Businesses can refuse on “reasonable business grounds” but exactly what “reasonable grounds” are isn’t exactly clear.

Lawyers say the cost of setting up the arrangements, the size of the business and the employees role will all be important considerations (for example, it might be hard for anyone with a supervisory role to work from home).

But as lawyer David Davies from Sparke Helmore points out, it could actually be very hard for employers to make a case that a job can’t be done in a different way, particularly if the employer already has workers on part-time or work-from-home arrangements.

While there is no specified penalty for employers who refuse on grounds that are not unreasonable, unhappy staff may take the claim to Fair Work Australia for review, or launch action on the basis of discrimination.

It’s potentially going to be a minefield and employers need to start thinking about how they are going to deal with the requests before they start to arrive.

Check out today’s feature on the NES, and spend a few hours thinking about how your company might be affected.