The employee commenced in the position of Religious Education Coordinator (REC) with Catholic Schools Briken Bay Limited, a leadership role that consists of classroom teaching duties. In May 2024, the employee commenced parental leave, which was due to end in January 2025.

In September 2024, the employee submitted a flexible work arrangement request, seeking to return to work by reducing her workdays from five to three days a week for terms 1 and 2 of the 2025 school year. The request to return on the reduced basis was made due to the employee only securing childcare through family members for two days of the week.

The employee discussed the request throughout October and November with her employer, and in November 2024, the employee met virtually with a HR manager to discuss return to work options after the employer could not provide the requested flexible work arrangement for the REC role.

The options centered around the employee moving to a classroom teacher position in a three-day-a-week capacity, with the ability to return to the full time REC position in term 3. A subsequent meeting was held in December 2024 following complaints from the employee that the employer had not provided sufficient business grounds for declining her original request.

Prior to this meeting, the employer listed a detailed response outlining the reasonable business grounds and reasons for refusal. The reasons provided included:

  • Accommodating the request is not in the best interest of students and would be detrimental to student achievement and wellbeing.
  • It would impose a significant cost increase which is not reasonable.
  • It would adversely impact the workload of other employees.
  • It would reduce the strength, availability, and support of executive leadership for staff and students at the school.

The letter confirmed that the flexible working arrangement could not be accommodated, and if the employee was not willing to accept an alternative arrangement, she would be expected to return to the REC role in a full-time capacity at the start of the 2025 school year. The employee subsequently filed the dispute with the FWC.

The Decision

In making the decision, the Commissioner closely assessed the different grounds for refusal. The employer submitted evidence that if the request was accommodated, it would require seven teachers compared to three to cover the REC role and classroom duties.

The Commissioner identified that this would have a considerable impact on the continuity of learning and teaching across subjects, and that students may struggle to adapt to the various teaching styles. The requirement to ensure more staff to cover the days the employee would not be working would also mean that the employer would experience an increase in costs.

Whilst the Commissioner did not fully accept the adverse impact on other staff members, he agreed that the coordination of communication between three teachers for a single subject would be difficult and likely result in an increased workload.

Finally, due to the need for the REC role to be available across all school days, being part of the school’s leadership team which could not be performed part-time and unable to be backfilled for the remaining two days a week for two terms, the Commissioner agreed that this would result in reduced leadership at the school and a significant impact on customer service.

Ultimately, it was agreed that the business had reasonable grounds for refusal, and the dispute was dismissed.

Key Takeaways

When receiving a flexible work arrangement request, businesses must follow the requirements in responding to a request under section 65A of the FW Act for national system employers and the newly added section 39H in the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 (WA) for state system employers.

In responding to a flexible working arrangement request, an employer needs to provide a written response within 21 days, outlining if the request has been accepted or refused. If the employer is refusing the request, prior to refusal, the employer must discuss the request with the employee and genuinely try to reach an agreement with the employee to try to accommodate the request. If an agreement cannot be reached, the employer must consider the consequences of the refusal on the employee, and ensure the refusal is based on reasonable business grounds.

In this case, the employer held discussions with the employee, put forward alternative options to the employee and provided in detail the reasonable business grounds for the refusal and the impact accepting the request would have on the business.

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