Aged care workers may benefit from new work reforms

Parents, carers and older Australians would be able to take their bosses to the Fair Work Commission to fight for flexible hours under Labor’s industrial relations reforms.

The Albanese government will seek to change “outdated” laws in order to give certain employees more rights to request and access flexible work arrangements.

The proposed changes come as part of Labor’s “Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill” which will be introduced to parliament on Thursday and have been met by alarm from employer groups.

Labor says current workplace laws don’t provide enough of an incentive for employers to agree to requests for flexible work or any recourse for employees if they are refused.

Under its new legislation, employers would have to make “genuine efforts” to identify alternative arrangements if they couldn’t accommodate this type of request on “reasonable business grounds”.

If the parties can’t agree, the employee would be able to take their case to the Fair Work Commission, where they would attempt to reach an agreement through conciliation.

If this fails, the Fair Work Commission would be able to make a binding decision on the matter.

Labor said it expects the possibility of arbitration to act as a “powerful incentive” for employers to reach an agreement with their workers at the workplace level.

Employment Minister Tony Burke said too many Australians were struggling to manage their work and care responsibilities, particularly women.

“In order to access the flexibility they need to manage work and care, they are often forced to drop out of the workforce, or to take lower-paid or less secure employment,” Burke said.

Burke said while many employers were accommodating, workers whose requests were “unreasonably refused” should have a right of review.

Eligible employees would include parents with children of school age or younger, carers, people with disabilities, Australians older than 55, people experiencing domestic violence and those caring for an immediate family member experiencing domestic violence.

The updates would come as part of Labor’s first tranche of workplace relations changes.

The package also includes reforms such as the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the introduction of multi-employer bargaining.

Australia’s peak employer groups have warned Labor’s legislation is rushed and the changes will raise the risk of higher unemployment, increased strike action and damage to economic security.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said unions and industry both wanted an improved bargaining system.

“What we’re concerned about is that we end up with a system that’s more complex, that’s more difficult, that delays people’s wages,” she told the ABC on Wednesday.

Jobs summit ignites industrial relations 'stoush' Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says Australians saw their first “industrial relations stoush” out of the Jobs and Skills Summit this weekend.

“The NSW government is angry that just as they threatened the rail union they were going to rip up their enterprise agreement in a bid to stop strikes that have dragged on for months,” Clennell said.

"Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke wrote to Fair Work Commission President Iain Ross saying the Commission should not terminate enterprise bargaining agreements on the request of employers.

“Only on Thursday NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told us he was prepared to rip up the current enterprise agreement and apply to the Fair Work Commission to stop industrial action and he hoped the Commission would grant his wishes.”