Flexible work and reasonable working hours

Understanding the law around flexible work arrangements, and the limits of reasonable additional hours of work, has become increasingly important as the post-pandemic world has normalised remote ways of working and left us more “plugged in” to work than ever before.

This article breaks down key issues for employers when considering requests by employees for flexible work arrangements, and when asking employees to work additional hours. We also look at recent amendments to the law in this space, and further changes that have been proposed to Parliament.

This article cover:

  • Who can request flexible work?
  • What does flexible work look like?
  • When can requests for flexible work be refused?
  • What are reasonable business grounds?
  • What happens if a request is refused?
  • Hours of work and Reasonable additional hours
  • Next steps