I worked in a senior leadership position at a multinational company for several years. I had been with the company for much longer. Because of parental responsibilities, as well as a personal health issue, I asked to begin working part-time. As part of this formal request, I suggested it would be best to work from home to make sure I could do school pick-ups and drop-offs and quickly get back to work. This was agreed to by my manager at that time.
Thanks for sharing your story in such detail, and for working with me on a version of the question that would be brief enough for this column. I appreciate your candour. Both McCrystal and Munton confirmed that there is a very short time limit if you’re complaining that you’ve been unfairly dismissed from a job to the Fair Work Commission. It’s 21 days from the date of dismissal. But this is unlikely to apply to you.
“The National Employment Standards allow for employees to make a request for a change to their working arrangements in certain circumstances. One of those circumstances is where the worker has responsibility for the care of a child who is school age or younger. However, if the worker has resigned from their employment, the flexible work provisions do not apply. They are not designed to be punitive or to redress alleged past wrongs.