Fair Work Commission ruling has potential to affect many other working families. 

 

A Sydney father must return to the office following a ruling by the Fair Work Commission, after he asked for a compromise to his work schedule to care for his children - in a ruling that could affect other Australian working families.

 

Paul Collins, a technical specialist at global software company InterSystems Australia, lodged an application with FWC seeking flexible working arrangements after attempts to reach a compromise with his employer failed.

 

He submitted a request in January to work from home every Wednesday and Thursday to care for his 8- and 10-year-old children and the need for a work and life balance. 

 

Until late 2024, Mr Collins had been working remotely on both these days under a hybrid working model adopted by InterSystems following the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

n November that same year, the company announced it was ending this arrangement and staff would need to return to the office five days a week from February 2025.

 

Mr Collins’ WFH request was denied, but InterSystems offered an alternate arrangement of one work-from-home day per week.

 

In her judgment on Monday, FWC deputy president Lyndall Dean said she was not satisfied Mr Collins had established the “requisite nexus” between his responsibility as a parent and the change he was seeking in his work arrangements.

 

She said his written request “merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work” and did not specify how working from home twice a week “specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities”.