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Flexible Working Arrangements

23 June 2025 (Last updated 3 Dec 2025)

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As technology advances, employers have greater ability to offer employees flexibility in where they perform their work, including working from home.

Being flexible about where your employees perform their work can help to increase productivity and job satisfaction, making it less likely your staff will resign.

Employees have a right to request flexible working arrangements, such as completing some or all of their work at home. When it comes to an employee making a request to work from home, there are a number of considerations to be made.

Ultimately, employers need to decide if the request is viable, and only refuse the request if there are reasonable business grounds to do so.

Flexible working arrangements

All employees can request flexible working arrangements and ask at any time to change:

  • Their hours of work (over a day, a week or year)
  • Their days of work
  • Their place of work (in office, from home, or hybrid)

Flexible work arrangements can also be used to change:

  • How work is completed
  • How starting and ending work are managed

Flexible work doesn’t just mean an employee changing their work hours or environment. It can also mean combining or sharing roles, such as spending three days in an operational role and performing administrative tasks, and the other two days in a sales role working remotely.

What are the benefits of employees working from home?

There are a range of benefits that come with offering flexible working arrangements. Many employers have already embraced flexible work, mostly because it makes good business sense. Offering flexible working arrangements can help businesses to:

  • Retain skilled employees and reduce staff turnover
  • Raise staff morale and performance levels
  • Decrease absenteeism

More specifically, adopting working from home policies can help businesses:

  • Offer an alternative to staff relocation
  • Expand their talent pool geographically
  • Reduce office space and associated costs
  • Accommodate employees with disabilities

For employees, the option to work from home can help them:

  • Work during their “personal best time”
  • Strike a better work-life balance
  • Reduce the time and money spent commuting
  • Maintain their all-round health and wellbeing
  • Reduce the need to take leave to fulfill personal obligations

Rights and responsibilities

Employees have a right to request flexible working arrangements, including working from home. The request can:

  • Ask to change working arrangements permanently or for a set period of time
  • Be made at anytime from the employee’s first day of work
  • Be made for any purpose or reason. For example, caring for children or elderly parents

Employers have a responsibility to:

  • Carefully review every work from home request and reply in writing within a month
  • Only refuse requests on reasonable business grounds. For example, if the business is a small and does not have the financial resources to set up remote work capabilities

Allowing an employee to work from home can lead to a happier and ultimately more productive employee, showing just how beneficial building flexibility into your business can be.

Upgrade your HR with Peninsula

Peninsula can help you integrate flexible working arrangements, hybrid work, or remote working in your business. Access customised documents, resources, and advice for your business with our services. Call us on 0800215029 to learn more.

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Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible Working Arrangements

A recent report has revealed that a higher number of Australians are prioritising flexibility over other benefits in the workplace. With the traditional work processes undergoing a cultural shift, flexible working arrangements have become the norm in Australia. Employers also need to be more agile and adaptable and consider how flexible working can be integrated into their businesses without loss of productivity. In this guide for employers, we outline the benefits of flexible working arrangements, barriers to flexible work, types of flexible working arrangements, responding to flexible working requests, and ways Peninsula can help your business. Flexible working arrangements A flexible working arrangement allows an employee the opportunity to adjust their existing work schedule to suit their needs. This can include changes to working hours, or to the existing pattern or location of work to better suit their lifestyle and circumstances. There are different types of flexible working approaches that work for different roles. For example, health care workers may not be able to work from home, but they can work varied hours (early start, late finish etc). Employers and employees can negotiate these changes to their mutual benefit, but certain employees have the right to request flexible working arrangement which an employer may have to accommodate. Benefits of flexible working arrangements Flexible working arrangements have far-ranging benefits and that has been backed by research. Australia has one of the highest rates of part time workers among all nations in the OECD, yet the share of women in those roles has dropped by 3.2% in the last couple of years. This indicates that there is a growing need for flexibility and that women are eager to return to the workforce. There are multiple benefits to flexible working: Allows for women and primary caregivers to participate in the workforce. Supports people with disabilities and other medical conditions. Ageing employees get an opportunity to work. Expands talent pool as companies are not bound geographically. Reduces commute time and costs. Reduces costs of renting space and other equipment. Employee attraction and retention. Improves productivity. Improves employee wellbeing. Barriers to flexible working While flexible working in some form is commonplace, it is still tricky to implement. For small businesses, flexible working can be a challenge as they may not have enough resources and support. Remote working or flexible working needs additional health and safety checks which as a small business, you may not have the resources to implement. Flexible working can work for retail businesses and exists in different forms (shift work, time off in lieu, varied hours etc) but working from home or remote working is not practical in customer facing businesses. Employees may also feel that working flexibly can harm their career if it makes them seem less committed to work. There is still a negative connotation associated with flexible working in senior roles or leadership which makes it challenging for women or caregivers to progress. Traditional notions of working approaches should be altered, and every business should find a way of working that is inclusive, adaptable, and future led. Types of flexible working arrangements There are many types of flexible working arrangements available to employees and businesses Working from home: One of the most common types of flexible working arrangements available for businesses and employees. Most frequently requested type of flexible working arrangements, working from home is when employees work from home or remote locations. This can be a short-term or long-term arrangement where the work location is split between the office and home on a regular basis. There are things to consider before implementing working from home, such as technology requirements, health and safety considerations, and impact on customers and clients. This is also known as ‘hybrid working.’ Flexi-time: Flexi-time allows an employee to work a set number of hours per week or fortnight, which may be varied by agreement from week to week. Once again, the needs of the business need to be considered, and the arrangements should be documented in writing so that there is no confusion. Compressed hours: Compressed hours refers to an arrangement by which an employee can compress their set hours of work into shorter week e.g. 37.5-hour week could be averaged over 4 days at 9.38 hours a day. Job share: Job share refers to part-time work, where two or more employees work part-time and share the responsibilities for one full-time role between them. Provided employees receive their minimum entitlements, employers and employees can negotiate ways to make their workplace more flexible and help employees achieve work-life balance. It can also mean: Changing from full-time to part-time or even casual work. ‘Purchasing’ extra paid leave. Taking unpaid leave. Taking rostered days off as 2 half days instead of one full day. Time off in lieu. Flexi-time (allowing employees to ‘bank’ extra hours which are then exchanged for time off). Gradual increase or decrease in work hours – before or after parental leave, or leading up to retirement, for example. Flexible by default There are discussions around an approach that is called ‘flexible by default.’ Flexible by default means shifting from asking ‘Why should a role be flexible?’ to ‘Why not?’. This approach means changing your perspective and reframing it as all roles are suitable for flexible working and exploring how flexibility could work, unless there is a genuine business reason for any role to not be flexible. A flexible by default seeks to normalise flexible working so that it does not impact career progression, pay and ensures everyone can do their jobs regardless. Flexible working legislation If an eligible employee has a right to request a flexible working arrangement there are requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 for both employers and employees. Requests for flexible working arrangements should be in writing and explain what changes are being asked for (for example arrangements that include changes to days or hours of work or requests to work from home) and explain the reasons behind the requested change. Employers should meet with the employee to discuss their request first, and employers covered by an award must consult with the employee to try to reach an agreement about changes to the employee’s working conditions. The consultation meeting is an opportunity for both parties to discuss the flexible work request and the impact of the proposed new arrangement on the business. Both parties should consider potential solutions for managing the impact. The parties can negotiate to come to an arrangement that balances both of their needs. All employers who receive a request for a flexible working arrangement from an eligible employee must provide a written response within 21 days which outlines whether the request is approved or refused, and why. Alternative working arrangements must also be considered and offered, if available, within this letter. Employee right to flexible working The National Employment Standards (NES) are minimum employment standards contained in the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) that must be provided to employees covered by the national workplace relations system. Requests for flexible working arrangements are part of those minimum entitlements that employers need to provide, for certain eligible employees, which can only be refused on reasonable business grounds. Prior to July 2013, the Fair Work Act 2009 only allowed employees who were parents or who were responsible for a child under school age (or a child with a disability) to request  these flexible working arrangements. Since then, the eligibility criteria have been amended to include a broader range of employees, provided they have been employed within the business continuously for at least 12 months immediately prior to making the request. This includes casual employees if they are reasonably expected to continue working regularly in the business. To apply for flexible working arrangements employees must also be: Parents or caring for a child who is school aged or younger. A carer as defined in the Carer Recognition Act 2010. Aaged 55 years or more. Have a disability. Be experiencing family or domestic violence. Provides care or support to an immediate family member who is experiencing Casual employees can request flexible working arrangements if: they meet one of the above criteria they have been working for the same employer regularly and systematically for at least 12 months there's a reasonable expectation of continuing work with the employer on a regular and systematic basis Refusing a request for flexible working All employers who receive a request from one of these eligible employees must provide a written response within 21 days which outlines whether the request is approved or refused. Employers can only refuse a request on reasonable business grounds. Reasonable business grounds can include: the requested arrangements are too costly other employees' working arrangements can't be changed to accommodate the request it would be impractical to change other employees' working arrangements or hire new employees to accommodate the request if the request is likely to result in significant loss in efficiency or productivity or would have a significant negative impact on customer service If a request is refused the written response must include the reasons for the refusal. It also needs to include other changes the employer is willing to make or a statement that there aren't any changes to be made. Employers also need to include information about getting help from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for disputes about flexible working arrangements. Flexible working policy The purpose of a flexible work policy is to set in place the principles, guidelines, and procedures which relate to flexible working arrangements. The policy should make emphasize and clarify the following for employees: Who has the statutory right to submit a request for flexible work. What type of changes can employees request – i.e. flexible working hours, work patterns, and location. Procedures to follow to submit a flexible work request. Clear distinction between a formal and informal request for flexible work. Any applicable working from home health and safety policies. Building better businesses with Peninsula Whether you are considering flexible working or want to improve existing policies, there is a lot you need to do. Australian businesses have many responsibilities when it comes to employment relations and workplace health and safety. With the support of Peninsula, small and medium Aussie businesses can access premium services including advice, resources, and tools that level up your business. Our HR and WHS services provide everything you need to build on your success. This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

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