New flexible workplace laws – What you need to know

Employers must take crucial new steps when an employee requests a change to their working arrangements.

Offering flexible work arrangements has become one of the key ways Australian businesses can attract, retain, and get the most out of their employees.

Research by Hays reveals almost three quarters (73 percent) of Australian workers desire a job offering flexible work practices, which is also the most common benefit employers offer.

Given the growing prevalence of flexible work arrangements, the Fair Work Commission recently introduced new rules for when employees request flexible work arrangements.

What are the new rules?

Introduced into modern awards on 1 December 2018, the new rules stipulate that when an eligible employee makes a request for a flexible work arrangement, an employer must first discuss the request with the employee before rendering a decision to grant or deny the request.

Requests can only be refused on reasonable business grounds, with employers required to provide a written response to the employee if they refuse the request.

For more details of an employer’s requirements under the new rules, please visit the Fair Work website for an easy to follow guide.

How can you effectively manage flexible work arrangements?

Adapting to the growing trend of flexible work arrangements and ensuring compliance with new workplace legislation is a key challenge for many medium to large-sized businesses.

One way many businesses are overcoming these challenges is with Human Capital Management (HCM) software, which provides a more efficient and effective way to manage people and get the best out of them. Gartner predicts that by 2020, 30 percent of global midmarket and large enterprises will have invested in a cloud-deployed HCM suite for administrative HR and talent management.

HCM software like Sage Business Cloud People can help you save time and automate HR and People processes across the entire employee lifecycle – from recruitment and on-boarding, to ensuring you can effectively manage and retain your workforce.

How can Sage Business Cloud People help manage flexible work practices?

• Get instant, real-time visibility into your workforce with a single source of truth.
• Reports and dashboards provide actionable insights that enable you to make smarter business decisions.
• Provide seamless user experiences by giving your people access to view and manage their details, across any device at any time.
• Capture, identify, manage, and report on attendance and leave management for your entire global workforce.
• Increase performance by enabling continuous conversations and feedback between managers and employees.
• Provide simple real-time feedback, instant recognition, talent and succession planning, goal setting, and continuous performance reviews.
• Keep your workforce connected with regular updates on the things that matter. Deliver tailored mobile experiences, get rapid feedback using pulse surveys, and improve corporate wellness.

Awarded the Silver Medal in the 2018 HRD Magazine HR Service Provider Awards, Sage Business Cloud People can also help you stay compliant with the latest workplace legislation, as well as adapt to and effectively manage a flexible workplace.