Unions call on Fair Work Commission to stop employer bid to cut rights in exchange for work from home

Australian Unions are voicing their alarm at attempts by employer groups to exploit the popularity of working from home to sweep away longstanding workplace rights.

Employer groups are pursuing broad changes in the Fair Work Commission that threaten rights to overtime and penalty rates in exchange for greenlighting new work from home agreements.

The employers’ lobby, led by the Ai Group wants to let employers’ new work from home arrangements for administrative workers wipe out rights to overtime, penalty rates and allowances if they sign on.

The Fair Work Commission initiated the case to insert a “work from home” clause in the Clerks Award. According to research it commissioned, nearly 66% of employees employed under this Award were able to work from home, with 52% agreeing to do so.

The employers’ proposals also arguably conflict with recently passed Federal Government laws to protect penalty and overtime rates.

Australian Unions are concerned the test case could impact thousands of admin workers and set a new low benchmark for other modern awards if adopted in other sectors.

Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus:

“The ACTU is alarmed by the sheer scale of the proposals from employers to remove overtime and other entitlements from admin workers.

“Overtime and penalty rates form part of people’s take-home pay and also protect workers from expectations from employers that they work unusual or excessive hours.

“None of the employer groups put up any real evidence as to why they need the changes. In our view, they are using this as an opportunity to gain control over workers and to cut their pay.

“Employers are asking for an astonishing number of basic protections to be stripped away from workers, particularly part-time workers who are largely women and this will worsen the gender pay gap.

“The basic protections at stake here are too important to have taken away and unions are calling on the Fair Work Commission to stop this employer bid to cut rights in exchange for work from home arrangements.”

Comments attributable to ASU Assistant National Secretary, Scott Cowen:

“This case is about where people work, not when – employer groups are cynically trying to conflate the two in a bid to attack the pay and conditions of the lowest-paid administrative workers in the country. 

“Working from home shouldn’t come with a pay cut and we are calling on the Commission to protect workers’ fundamental rights to overtime, penalty rates, and breaks, regardless of where they work.

“Employer groups are ignoring the reality for hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers, mostly women, asking them to individually negotiate these kinds of unreasonable trade-offs with their boss.

“These changes would force people, especially women, out of the workforce, making it even harder to manage childcare and other responsibilities. 

“A recent study of this workforce found that 98% of employees consider the right to work from home to be fundamental, and we need to protect these rights which have improved and modernised workplaces across the country.”