Employers want 'restrictive provisions' removed to allow remote staff to make up for lost time due to caring duties
Employers and unions have clashed anew over a suggestion to scrap the traditional nine-to-five working hours for remote employees, according to reports.
The new submissions from the Ai Group and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) are calling for the removal of clauses that require ordinary hours to be worked continuously by remote workers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Brent Ferguson, head of national workplace relations policy at Ai Group, said "restrictive provisions" in awards prevent employers from delivering the flexibilities employees want.
"Awards need to reflect the reality of the dramatic changes that have occurred in relation to the prevalence of work from home arrangements," the official said as quoted by the Herald.
Makeup time suggested for remote work
According to Ferguson, there is a growing need to allow employees to make up the time spent on household duties while remotely working.
This would likely be the case for parents with young children, who would want to "make up" for their working hours spent with their children at night.
The submission from the ACCI also suggested a similar concept, where employees could start earlier than the nine-to-five schedule before their children wake up or leave for school.
For casuals and part-times working from home, both groups suggested giving them the authority to waive any minimum shift where they must be paid.
Unions push back on ‘modernisation’
The suggestions, however, were slammed by unions during the inquiry, the Herald reported.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said the submissions have "completely failed to read the room," noting that they were attempts to "drive down employees' conditions under the guise of modernisation."
Sally McManus, secretary at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, also said the proposals would only worsen the disadvantage faced by women and carers, who are already not compensated adequately.
The exchange came as a growing number of Australia's public sector agencies back the pay and conditions package negotiated by CPSU, which includes significant flexible work rights.
It also came as the Australian government passed a new right to disconnect law to allow employees to ignore work-related contacts outside their working hours.
