Source : Perth Now news
A Fair Work Commission ruling has backed a council’s decision to keep a senior planning staff member in the office two days a week, finding the council had reasonable business grounds to reject his bid for an extra day working from home.
Steven Polak, a planning and building liaison officer with the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, asked to work from home four days a week and attend the office one day a week for three weeks of the month, then attend two days in the fourth week.
Mr Polak, who is over 55, said he was experiencing work-related fatigue and that reducing his commute would help. He also said he had a dependent who needed access to his vehicle to travel to university.
He argued he could still perform his duties effectively from home and stay connected with colleagues through Microsoft Teams.
The council rejected the request, arguing the operational needs of its statutory planning team required a regular and consistent onsite presence.
It pointed to a significant shift in the composition of their 20-person team, arguing that as one of only three long-serving employees remaining, Mr Polak’s physical presence was vital to guide younger colleagues.
In a decision delivered in Melbourne on Monday, Deputy President Kamal Farouque found the council was entitled to refuse the request, saying it wanted Mr Polak’s experience “available to the planning team” and considered his two-day office attendance important to team connection.
Mr Farouque said that was especially relevant after significant staff changes left Mr Polak as one of only three long-serving team members.
The commission noted Mr Polak had been on a hybrid arrangement since about 2022, working in the office on Thursdays and Fridays and from home the other three days.
Mr Farouque accepted that Mr Polak could carry out much of his day-to-day work from home, including responding to inquiries and connecting with colleagues online.
But he said that, even taking that into account, the council still had “reasonable business grounds” to reject his bid to cut his office attendance to one day a week for most of the month.
The decision also noted the council had offered some flexibility by allowing Mr Polak to nominate which two days he would attend the office, subject to a week’s notice and operational requirements.
The matter had first gone to conciliation before proceeding to arbitration when it did not resolve.
Mr Farouque ultimately ordered that the grounds relied on by the council be taken as reasonable business grounds.
