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Flexible Working Hours in NSW Awards & Enterprise Agreements

Introduction
Individual flexible work agreements
Creating an "hours bank"

Introduction

Flexible working hours are being used by NSW employers and employees to develop innovative enterprise arrangements. NSW awards and enterprise agreements contain many examples where flexible working hours are used to improve enterprise productivity and the employees' working lives. These two examples highlight flexible working hours introduced in recent NSW enterprise agreements.

Individual flexible work agreements

A NSW enterprise agreement covering a government enterprise permits each employee to negotiate a Flexible Work Agreement (FWA) with their manager. The enterprise agreement allows every full-time or part-time employee to average their weekly working hours over any period up to 12 weeks in duration.

Work performed in accordance with FWA does not attract overtime, loadings or penalties. Entitlements to overtime arise only if an employee works outside of the hours specified in the FWA.

Safeguards are in place to ensure that the FWA works appropriately. The FWA must be in writing, and cannot be imposed by the manager. Importantly, the FWA may be varied at any time by mutual consent or terminated by either the employee or the manager.

FWA's are designed to contribute to the productivity of the enterprise and to provide greater flexibility to the employee.

The FWA's are introduced as part of a wider package of reforms designed to improve the focus on achieving business objectives through the use of performance management agreements, enable employees to be rewarded for improvements in business performance and to encourage flexible work arrangements.

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Creating an "hours bank"

A NSW enterprise agreement covering a business operating in the drug manufacturing industry has developed a package of reforms covering more flexible working hours.

The changes to working hours are designed to optimise work effectiveness, offer the company greater opportunities to respond to customer requirements and provide employees with greater scope for balancing work and family commitments.

The enterprise agreement expands the range of operating hours across the week and permits further expansion by mutual consent.

Instead of a fixed or rostered day off, each employee accrues entitlements into an "hours bank". Up to 12 days' entitlement can be accrued each year.

The scheduling of leave taken from the hours bank is managed by each unit in the business, recognising that differing operations and production demands exist.

The scheme allows the company to maximise flexibility in the weekly operations, while employees gain access to leave which is more tailored to their personal needs.