Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Starting up
1. Do I have to offer flexibility?
2. What are the likely costs involved in implementing flexibility?
3. What are the benefits of flexibility for an employer?
4. What are the benefits of flexibility for an employee?
5. Should I offer flexibility to everyone – do I have to?
6. If I implement flexibility in one area, have I set a precedent?
7. How does flexibility impact on an employee’s benefits?
8. What is the link between WorkChoices and flexibility?
Implementing flexibility
9. As an employer, how do I implement flexible work practices?
10. Can I have a safe test-drive of flexibility?
11. As an employer can I change/terminate the arrangement after flexibility
12. What if an employee’s circumstances change?
13. What if my business needs change?
14. Is there are standard document I can use to help me implement flexibility?
15. How do I measure success of a job-share arrangement?
Troubleshooting
16. How do I negotiate a stalemate?
17. What if the arrangement is not working anymore?
1. Do I have to offer flexibility?
The main reason you should offer workplace flexibility for your employees is because it is good for business. Organisations that offer flexible, family friendly working arrangements report significant benefits such as greater ability to attract and retain valuable staff, lower absenteeism, higher productivity and greater team morale.
For more detail see the Why section of this website.
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2. What are the likely costs involved in implementing flexibility?
Many flexible arrangements have little or no cost – for example, allowing employees to have some control over their working hours. However, there may be some initial set-up costs in introducing some flexible work arrangements. Generally, these costs are associated with:
- time (eg the time taken by a manager and employee to negotiate an arrangement)
- infrastructure (eg setting up internet access and phone to enable a person to work from home)
- recruitment (eg recruiting a person to job-share with another person likely to be off-set by the benefits, such as reduced turnover and increased employee productivity.
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3. What are the benefits of flexibility for an employer – or what is the business case for flexibility?
For an employer the business benefits of flexibility are:
- attracting and retaining staff
- increasing productivity
- reducing absenteeism
- improving the workplace culture
- increasing management skills
- meeting customer demands
- sustaining business leaders.
For more detail see the Why section of this website.
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4. What are the benefits of flexibility for an employee?
Flexibility means employees have greater control over their work schedules, and therefore can balance work and other responsibilities/interests more easily. They can spend more time with family members, attend study classes, or pursue a hobby.
Flexibility can help employees by:
- reducing stress and anxiety
- increasing employee satisfaction
- enabling employees to stay with their employers for longer
- improving employee’s sense of physical and mental well-being
- improving family relationships.
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5. Should I offer flexibility to everyone – do I have to?
Flexibility gives an employer access to the widest pool of talent, but if it is offered to some groups of employees and not others it can create resentment.
But not all roles are capable of being done flexibly. For example, a baker must be at work to bake bread before the shop opens, so a request to start at 9am probably won’t work. And not all employees can work flexibly. A request by an employee to work from home will not work if the employee is unmotivated and needs a high level of supervision.
An employer is not legally required to offer flexible work practices to anyone, but may be legally required to accept a request to work flexibly so that an employee can accommodate their family responsibilities.
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6. If I implement flexibility in one area, have I set a precedent?
If an employer allows one employee to work flexibly then another employee in a similar situation will expect the same treatment. However, each offer or request for flexibility should be judged on its merits. An employer should assess whether each role is suitable to be worked flexibly and whether the employee has the necessary skills.
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7. How does flexibility impact on an employee’s benefits?
Working flexibly should not adversely impact on an employee’s benefits. If an employee works part-time, for example, they should accrue financial benefits (eg leave and superannuation) at a pro-rata rate. Similarly, an employee working flexibly should not be disadvantaged in terms of access to other workplace benefits (eg training and promotion opportunities). Discrimination law prohibits treating an employee unfairly because they are working flexibly to accommodate their family responsibilities.
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8. What is the link between WorkChoices and flexibility?
WorkChoices is a new, national workplace relations system that provides more choice and flexibility for employees and employers in the workplace. The system simplifies agreement-making at the workplace level and provides minimum legislated entitlements for wages and key conditions, including parental leave, personal/carer’s leave, annual leave and hours of work.
One of the main ways that WorkChoices enables flexibility is the focus on negotiating flexible work arrangements through agreements such as Australian Workplace Agreements.
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IMPLEMENTING FLEXIBILITY
9. As an employer, how do I implement flexible work practices?
If an employee approaches you about working flexibly:
- Check your flexible work practices policy and any relevant agreement. These may give you some guidance about how to implement the requested flexible work arrangement. If you don’t have a policy – take a look at the model policy on this site.
- Look at the practical issues:
- Read the employee’s business case to identify the nature of the flexibility being sought and what needs to change in the current job arrangement to make flexibility work (eg if the person wants to work from home, do they need internet access?).
- Negotiate with the employee about how business needs will be met and the key performance indicators.
- Consult with them to understand their views.
- Decide whether you need to make any reasonable adjustments to make the flexible arrangement work.
- Identify timeframes (eg when will the arrangement commence, when will it be reviewed) and whether the arrangement is for a set period or be on-going.
- If the request is accepted, enter into a formal written arrangement so that both you and employee are clear about expectations.
- Document your reasons for accepting or rejecting the request.
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10. Can I have a safe test-drive of flexibility?
It is a good idea to test a flexible work arrangement prior to final implementation. This is sensible if you have not implemented such an arrangement before or if you are unsure about how the arrangement will work in practice.
The test phase should be for a set period (eg 3 months or 6 months) and clear performance indicators should be set before commencement.
During the test period it is a good idea to have regular reviews (eg every 2 weeks) to address any issues that might arise.
At the end of the test the employer and employee should review the arrangement and decide if:
- it should continue as piloted
- any changes are needed to improve the arrangement
- it should cease.
The outcome of the test should be clearly documented by the manager with a copy of the record given to the employee. If you have a human resources manager then that person should get a copy too.
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11. As an employer can I change/terminate the arrangement after flexibility has been implemented?
Yes, you can change or terminate a flexible work arrangement after it has been introduced.
Changes or termination might be required because business needs change or you think the arrangement is not working.
Before deciding to change or terminate the arrangement have an open discussion with the employee about your concerns and try to find solutions.
If a solution cannot be found and you decide to change or terminate the arrangement, make sure you clearly write down your reasons because this will help you explain them and it provides a record. You should keep a copy of the document, give one to the employee and one to the human resources manager, if you have one.
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12. What if an employee’s circumstances change?
If the employee’s circumstances change and they request a new form of flexibility, or a variation in the current flexible work arrangement, that request should be assessed just as if it was a new request for flexibility.
For example, an employee who no longer wants the flexible arrangement they have been working under might seek to return to a standard full-time role. As an employer you are not obliged to provide the employee with full-time work. The request for full-time work in this situation should be assessed against business needs.
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13. What if my business needs change?
If the business needs change, such as the need to change the hours of operation, then the employer should consider its effects on the flexible work arrangement for all staff and each employee who is on a flexible arrangement.
It may be that the terms of the flexible work arrangement need to change. Any change should be done in consultation with the employee because the final arrangement has to work for the employer and the employee. This is called the mutuality principle.
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14. Is there are standard document I can use to help me implement flexibility?
There is no standard document you must use to implement flexibility. However, this website includes a pro-forma Arrangement document that will help you to work through the implementation issues. The document covers issues like:
- What is the nature of the proposal?
- What are the potential costs and benefits?
- How will the performance and development be managed?
- What adjustments are needed?
- How will the arrangement be evaluated?
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15. How do I measure performance of a job-share arrangement?
A job-share arrangement usually means that two people share one full-time job, each working part-time on a regular ongoing basis. Each job-sharer may work equal time, or it may be that one works slightly more hours than the other.
When setting up a job-share arrangement it is critical to ensure that job-sharers have similar levels of skills and abilities so that they can contribute equally to the tasks and meet the Key Performance Indicators for the job. Performance should be measured according to those KPIs. If a job-sharer has some special tasks, then individual KPIs should be set for those tasks.
One fear expressed by managers about job-share arrangements is that KPIs will not be met because information about customers or management issues will fall through the cracks. Communication is critical in a job-share arrangement. Keeping a diary of events and decisions, having a period of 'over time' or having a weekly telephone catch up, are good communication strategies.
If KPIs have not been met, one strategy is to set individual KPIs for each half of the job-share to identify if the problem is with an individual or the arrangement, and then to review performance after a short period.
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Troubleshooting
16. How do I negotiate a stalemate?
A stalemate may occur when an employee and manager are negotiating the introduction of a flexible work practice, or one of the parties is seeking to change a current arrangement.
The key to negotiating a stalemate is to have an open discussion about possible solutions, rather than being argumentative, and to remember that the objective for both the employee and the employer is to find a mutual solution.
Here are some ways to approach settling a stalemate:
- Let the employer and employee see the situation from a different perspective by asking the employee and employer to “swap” positions.
- Tackle a stalemate as soon as it arises. Letting things go will not assist the situation.
- Seek external assistance (eg by looking at model flexibility clauses implemented by other organisations) or ask a colleague to help mediate.
If the stalemate cannot be resolved then the manager should identify in writing the reasons why the flexibility arrangement will not be implemented, and what options were investigated.
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17. What if the arrangement is not working anymore?
If a flexible work arrangement is not working, it is important for a manager to find out why and whether anything can be done to get the arrangement back on track. This should be done before ending the arrangement.
When finding out why the arrangement is not working, consider whether:
- it is the nature of the arrangement itself
- some adjustment is needed to make the arrangement work (eg a supportive team environment)
- the problem is the capabilities of the employee.
If, after the problem has been identified and solutions explored, the manager decides to terminate the arrangement, then the reasons for reaching that decision should be written down.
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