Westpac employee wins legal case to work from home | ABC NEWS

An important ruling at the Fair Work Commission this week could change the way employers handle work from home requests.

Westpac worker Karlene Chandler was asked to return to the office two days a week. She challenged the bank’s request at the workplace tribunal, and won.

Nicole McPherson from the Finance Sector Union told ABC NEWS Breakfast the ruling could make it harder for employers to force their workers back to the office, if an existing work from home agreement exists.

Westpac was considering the commission’s ruling, a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters, adding that its return to office policies were designed to “to ensure meaningful collaboration within teams while providing flexibility to work from home”.

The commission’s ruling said that Chandler was told by a Westpac manager that “working from home is no substitution for childcare”. The commission said there was no reasonable ground for Westpac to refuse Chandler’s remote working request.

Australia’s financial sector has been moving towards having staff back in the office more often than not, but the shift has been slow at retail banks, with hybrid working popular.

The commission can allow appeals of its decisions.

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