Aussie employers have been put on notice when it comes to denying working from home requests after a mum’s landmark win against a major Aussie bank.
Karlene Chandler has been with Westpac for more than two decades and works in their mortgage team.
Karlene asked back in January to work from home so she could do school drop-offs and pick-ups for her two young daughters.
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The bank originally denied the request, with a senior manager telling her that “working from home is no substitute for childcare.”
She then suggested to work two days a week at a branch closer to home. She lived almost two hours away from the bank’s Sydney office, but that was also knocked back.
She then took the matter to Fair Work with the Commission this week ruling in her favour, saying there are no reasonable grounds for Westpac to deny her remote working requests.
The decision, which can be appealed, has been backed by the finance sector union who took up Karlene’s case.
The union’s national secretary Julia Angrisano says it shows “working from home is a right, not a privilege.”
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