Effective from August 2017

Approved by: Chief Executive Officer

At a Glance

Five Good Friends values all our employees and aim to support a positive work-life balance.

Scope

This policy relates to all eligible Five Good Friends employees.

Objective

To provide a clear approach to the use of flexible work arrangements to support employee health and well-being and Five Good Friends operational requirements.

Definition

• Flexible working arrangement – a formal written agreement between Five Good Friends and an employee relating to working arrangements, e.g. – hours, patterns of, or location of work.

Policy Statement

• An eligible employee (see below) may request that Five Good Friends agree to flexible work arrangements because they are in one or more of the following circumstances:
  • they are a parent
  • they are responsible for the care of a child who is of school age or younger
  • they have a disability
  • they are 55 years or older
  • they are experiencing family violence
  • they are a carer
  • they are providing care or support to a member of their immediate family or household.
• The changes in working arrangements must relate to changes that would assist an employee to care for that person
• Flexible work arrangements include arrangements in relation to:
  • patterns of work hours, e.g. - working part-time
  • number of work hours, e.g. - flexible start and finish times
  • staggered return to work after parental leave, e.g. - returning part-time and building up to full-time
  • unpaid leave arrangements
  • scheduling of staff meetings
  • limitations on work travel
  • working from home
  • job-sharing, and
  • purchasing leave.
• Changing work arrangements may be for fixed or indefinite period of time.
• To be an ‘eligible employee’, i.e. - able to make a request for flexible work arrangements, an employee must:
  • have been employed for at least 12 months − if the employee is a casual employee
  • the employee must be employed on a regular and systematic basis with an expectation of ongoing work
  • make a request in writing to the Company in which the employee:
    • sets out the proposed change, and
    • sets out the reasons for the proposed change.
  • Requests for flexible work arrangements should be made to the relevant manager and require approval of the CEO or COO.
  • Once an eligible employee has made a request for flexible work arrangements, Five Good Friends will:
    • arrange a meeting between the employee and their manager to discuss the request if it is considered that it would benefit from receiving further details of the proposed change(s), and
    • provide the employee with a written response within 21 days stating whether it will grant or refuse the employee’s request.
  • The Company will only refuse an eligible employee’s request on reasonable business grounds.
  • In making its decision, we will take into account the following circumstances:
    • the nature of the employee’s work circumstances
    • the nature and cost of implementing the proposed arrangements
    • the financial circumstances of Five Good Friends at the time of the request
    • the nature and size of the organisation and its operational requirements
    • the effect of the proposed arrangements on the organisation (not limited to the financial impacts)
    • the effect of the proposed arrangement on other employees
    • the limitations imposed under applicable industrial laws (e.g. provisions of modern awards that deal with hours of work, breaks, etc.), workplace health and safety laws and workers’ compensation laws
    • the proposed commencement date of the arrangement and how long it is proposed to operate, and
    • whether there is sufficient information provided by the employee for the employer to make a decision.
  • Employees should take independent advice on the effect that the granting of the request may have on their accrued entitlements and the resulting financial impacts on them.

References and Related Documents