Workers have the upper hand in negotiations over working from home as the tight labour market and new legal rights threaten to thwart efforts to get staff back into the office.
Lawyers say recent changes to the Fair Work Act will make it even harder to get staff back into the office.mean many employees now have the right to appeal if their employer rejects a request for more flexible working arrangements. But she said they would now have to “put some meat on the bones” of their arguments by providing specific and meaningful reasons why an employee could not work from home.
The changes have given workers more power to keep working from home at a time when the tight labour market was alreadyCallam Pickering, Asia-Pacific economist at jobs site Indeed, said it was difficult for employers to force staff to return to the office as workers had the upper hand in today’s labour market.