The working dad wanted to keep his arrangement of working-from-home twice a week to help look after his children. Photo / Getty Images
The working dad wanted to keep his arrangement of working-from-home twice a week to help look after his children. Photo / Getty Images
An Australian dad who tried to get his employer to let him work from home twice a week, to help care for his school-age children, has had his request denied.
The dad took his legal bid to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) after attempts to reach a compromise with hisemployer failed.
Paul Collins, a technical specialist at global software company Intersystems Australia, sought the ability to work from home two days a week in order to help care for his school-aged children, aged 8 and 10. His application, filed in January, also said mentioned he needed better “work-life balance”. His bid has not been successful.
His employer, Intersystems, operates an online record system in Australia known as TrakCare, used by healthcare providers to allow the sharing of health information between facilities and organisations.
The employee had previous been working remotely two days a week in late 2024, under a hybrid working model the company had adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In November 2024, Intersystems determined that the model would end and staff was expected to return to the office full-time from February this year.
When Collins’ request to remain working from home two days a week was denied, the company reportedly offered for him to work from home one day per week.
He rejected the counteroffer and escalated the issue to the FWC, news.com.au reported.
Earlier this week, the FWC issued their decision, with deputy president Lyndall Dean saying she was not satisfied Collins had established the “requisite nexus” between his responsibilities as a father and the changes to his working arrangements and “merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work”.
The man admitted that there were no specific parenting duties allocated to him within his 9am-5pm working hours and, according to FWC, existing flexible arrangements allow him to share school pick-ups and drop-offs.
Australia's Fair Work Commission deputy president Lyndall Dean. Photo / Supplied
Dean added that the FWC believed the employer had made “genuine attempts to engage with the applicant’s request, including offering alternative arrangements such as working shorter hours on specific days” but the applicant “gave no explanation as to why these alternatives were unsuitable”.
Collins argued that other staff members were allowed to work remotely and no consideration had been given to his individual circumstances.
The company, however, said it had reasonable and sound business reasons” for denying his request and cited a user survey conducted in 2024 which found a 28% decline in customer satisfaction – which prompted the change in work arrangements.
