A Sydney tech company has been ordered to compromise on its return-to-office mandate and allow an employee and mother of young children to only have to attend the office in-person once a fortnight.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) found that Reapit Employment Service, which offers software to the property industry, did not have reasonable grounds to require the worker to attend the physical office two days per week, and should instead allow her to only have to come in once per fortnight.
The company had argued that bringing its workers back to the office would improve efficiency and collaboration, while the tech worker said her caring responsibilities and long commute meant she should be allowed to continue to work primarily from home.
The FWC ultimately found a balance, ruling that the tech company had reasonable grounds to not let the employee work from home permanently, but that she should only be required to attend the office once fortnightly.
The findings demonstrate that under Albanese government reforms in mid-2023, companies must treat an individual’s request to work from home on a case-by-case basis, rather than blanket, rigid policies.
Under the changes, Australian workers now have a greater rights to request flexible working arrangements and can challenge refusals through FWC.
A long running dispute
The employee, who has two children aged eight and five, including one with special needs, had previously worked entirely from home.
She was originally employed by software company IRE before her role transferred to Reapit following an acquisition. The FWC heard that Reapit oversees several businesses with different products, services and workplace cultures.
The worker lives around 45 kilometres from the company’s Sydney office, with the commute taking up to 90 minutes each way.
After the acquisition, Reapit introduced a policy requiring staff to spend at least part of their time in the office. The company argued the change would help strengthen workplace relationships, training, communication and integration into the broader business culture.
In May 2024, the employee was instructed to attend the office at least two days per week.
She responded by formally requesting flexible working arrangements, proposing that she work from home most of the time and attend the office once a fortnight, or alternatively begin work later at 10am instead of 8.30am.
The employer initially refused this request, citing a recent survey of employees had found a “concerning disengagement of employees within the business”.
Although the employee was later temporarily permitted to work fully remotely, that arrangement was reviewed after six months and deemed unsuitable by the company, which then sought to gradually bring her back into the office.
The worker challenged the decision and eventually took the matter to the FWC.
The arguments
The employee argued that her role was largely administrative and could be performed effectively online.
Reapit, however, claimed her caring responsibilities were not the true reason for the request and maintained that office attendance was necessary to properly communicate and implement workplace changes.
Fair Work Commissioner Alana Matheson ultimately found there was a clear connection between the employee’s caring responsibilities and her request for flexible work.
Matheson said return-to-office policies must take into account the individual circumstances of each employee.
“An outcome that is ‘fair’ may involve extending additional support and flexibility to employees in certain circumstances,” the Commissioner said.
While Matheson accepted there were benefits to in-office work, she found those benefits did not outweigh the impact the commute and office attendance would have on the applicant.
A compromise ruling
FWC ruled that Reapit had reasonable grounds to refuse the employee’s request to work permanently from home full-time.
However, it also found the company could not reasonably require her to attend the office two days each week.
Instead, the Commission ordered that the employee attend the Sydney office once per fortnight and begin work at 10.30am on those days, with the lost hours to be made up at other times.
