So we have the “perfect storm” of lots of factors causing constriction of the labour market in the post-lockdown environment.

There is lots of talk about working from home and hybrid working from those who had to work from home during lockdowns and would like to keep doing that for at least some of the time.

Correspondingly there is a common call to employers to be flexible in this if they are going to be competitive in that tight labour market.

But what about all of those people who can’t work from home because their job (as distinct from their boss) doesn’t allow them to.

Clearly factory workers and drivers and construction workers and those in essential services and health care and childcare and aged care and many, many more cannot do their jobs at home.

So does that mean that they cannot have some flexibility?

It shouldn’t although the options might be more limited.

Here are some to think about:

1. 1. Introduce RDOs to give people a day off every month
   2. Have an early finish on Friday to let people get organised for the weekend
   3. Allow people to adjust their hours to attend to personal commitments (eg an employee works an extra half hour on each of four days to get two hours off on the other day – perhaps to help with remedial reading at school or to coach a child’s sporting team)
   4. Look at job sharing arrangements where a couple of employees work part-time in the same job
   5.  Trial a 4 day week (it is working well in some places)
   6. Allow people to purchase additional annual leave for extended holidays
   7. Let people use their personal/carer’s leave more flexibly to meet important personal needs that don’t involve sick leave or caring requirements
   8. Extend the use of compassionate leave to more than just the immediate family and household (eg to attend funerals for close friends and other relatives like uncles and aunts and cousins and nephews and nieces

Then there is the law

In some cases, an employee will have a legal right to request flexible working arrangements under National Employment Standards.

The Fair Work Act provides that employees who have worked with the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements if they:

• are the parent, or have responsibility for the care, of a child who is school aged or younger
•  are a carer (under the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
• have a disability
• are 55 or older
• are experiencing family or domestic violence, or
• provide care or support to a member of their household or immediate family who requires care and support because of family or domestic violence.

This includes casual employees who have a reasonable expectation of continuing employment.\

Such requests can only be refused on reasonable business grounds and an employer has to respond in writing within 21 days saying whether they accept the request and, if not, why not.

Awards provide additional detail on how these are to be managed and employees are able to take the matter to the Fair Work Commission for review if their employer refuses their request.

Conclusion

There is a lot to think about in this space whether you are wrestling with hybrid working, wanting to enhance your value proposition as an employer or grappling with your legal obligations.

If there is anything in this that you would like some further advice on, give us a call on 0438 533 311. Take advantage of our offer of a free first consultation.

Our 4R Recovery Roadmap

Relating, reflecting, recalibrating and reconditioning

In Melbourne, as we have been emerging gradually from lockdown and business activity
picks up again, there is a need to have a think about what the COVID-19 situation has meant
for our own business and people and what that means for our people strategies going
forward.

In doing that, it is important not to take a “one size fits all approach” because there are so
many differences in the needs of our people, their respective experiences during the
pandemic and their preferred way of working.

Some had to work from home, some had to go to work and some had no work at all.

Some had to home school, some suffered from social disconnection and loneliness and
many had challenges with maintaining physical fitness and/or mental health.

For some, having tasted it, working from home will have its attractions and for others, the
opposite will be true and the social environment of the office will be the clear preference.

Many will want a bit of both and this hybrid model of working is one that will become very
common in the years ahead.

Some will decide that they want to do something different altogether from what they have
done professionally for many years while some will be happy just to be back doing what
they know and are comfortable with.

So how do you work all of that out and come up with a reasonable approach for your
business and your people? We suggest the following 4 steps.

Relating

Talk to your people and ask them where they are at.

What do they each (individually) want their personal future work situation to look like – the
job that they will do and when, where and how they will do it.

By all means, talk about what might be possible in the context of business needs but don’t
make promises that you can’t keep and don’t discard ideas without really giving them
proper consideration.

That is just really about having a genuine and respectful and open conversation.

Reflecting

Take some time to have a think about what each of your people has said about their
experiences and their preferences going forward.

There could be genuine opportunities that could present in honestly thinking about
different ways of doing things and providing flexible or remote working opportunities.

Are there things that have worked OK or perhaps even better during lockdown?

How can you structure things in ways that are going to work better for the business and
your people?

Recalibrating

The recalibration is about resetting the work experience for people based on what has been
learned from the pandemic situation in the context of the needs of your business and your
people.

The first part of that recalibration is getting your COVID-19 safe workplace plan in place and
ensuring that everyone understands it, is equipped to play their part and does so.

How do you embed the use of technology ongoing where that has reaped benefits during
lockdown and offers opportunities for the future?

Many businesses are reporting higher levels of employee satisfaction with the support they
received from their managers – probably because the need for timely communication
became a priority and more communication activity occurred as a result. Put simply, more
conversations occurred.

How can you maintain a culture of continuous conversations and coaching that will
engender greater employee wellbeing, engagement and higher performance.

Reconditioning

As with any process of change, people take time to adapt.

Many people who have been without work or working from home for months on end will
take time to adjust back to the routine of coming to work.

People need reconditioning – physically, socially, with their use of time and with personal
and family commitments. As noted above, some will want to make adjustments to their
working arrangements to get better balance in their lives.

There are also those who are still concerned about the COVID-19 threat and who therefore
may be reluctant to return to the normal workplace. Education on how you will keep people
safe at work (ie your COVID-19 safe workplace plan) will help this situation.

Then of course there is yourself. What are you doing to ensure your own wellbeing and the
optimal performance of your business for yourself, your family and your people?

If you need any help in answering that question, please feel free to give us a call for a free
consultation.