The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 which was passed on 27 June 2013 has the effect of extending existing family friendly measures (‘the Amendments’) under Fair Work Act 2009 (‘the Act’).
Pharmacy businesses should take particular note of these changes given that a significant proportion of a pharmacy’s employees will have or be expecting to have young families.
Right for pregnant women to transfer to a safe job
The Act currently provides that pregnant employees who have performed twelve months’ continuous service and who are otherwise eligible for unpaid parental leave have an entitlement to special maternity leave, that is, a right to be transferred to a ‘safe’ job for a risk period.
A job is unsafe for a pregnant employee if there is reasonable evidence that it would be unsafe for her to continue in her position because of illness or risks arising out of her pregnancy, or if there are any hazards connected with her position.
The Amendments extend the existing entitlement to the effect that all pregnant employees can transfer to a safe job, irrespective of their length of service. Further, in the event no safe job is available, a pregnant employee would be eligible to ‘no safe job’ leave, which is paid leave if the employee has been employed for more than 12 months.
Right to request flexible working arrangements
Employees permitted under the Act to request flexible working arrangements can request flexibility regarding:
- hours of work (i.e. reduced hours or change to start and finish times);
- patterns of work (i.e. splitting shift or job sharing); and
- location of work (i.e. working from home).
Currently, an employee who is a parent, or has responsibility for the care of a child, may request a change in their working arrangements to assist them to care for the child if that child is under school age or under 18 years and has a disability.
The Amendments permit all parents, or those who have responsibility for the care of a child who is of school age or younger, to make a request for flexible working arrangements. In other words, the requirement for the child to be disabled has been removed.
The Amendments also set out a new definition of ‘reasonable business grounds’ upon which an employer may refuse an employee’s request for flexible working arrangements. Reasonable business grounds to refuse a flexible working arrangement request include:
- the requested arrangements would be too costly;
- there is no capacity to change arrangements of other employees to accommodate the requested arrangements;
- it would be impracticable to change the working arrangements of other employees or recruit new employees to accommodate the request; and
- the requested arrangements would be likely to have a negative impact on customer service.
If the pharmacy business does not have reasonable grounds to refuse the request, then it must permit the requested flexible working arrangements.
Consultation about changing rosters or working hours
The Amendments also provide that employers are required to genuinely consult with their employees prior to any changes being made to their regular rosters or ordinary hours of work. This is in light of the impact those changes may have on family and caring responsibilities.
What to do
Some pharmacy businesses may see the Amendments as simply codifying existing practices. Others will see the Amendments as an additional challenge in a difficult business climate.
In any case, to minimise disruption, it is important for the pharmacy owner to be pro-active by developing practical policies compliant with the Act and to plan for flexibility requests.
Pointon Partners has broad employment law experience on a national scale and is able to provide practical advice on how to meet your ‘family friendly’ workplace obligations and your employment law obligations in general.
To discuss your needs, please feel free to contact Michael Bishop or Aaron Zoanetti on (03) 9614 7707.