By Catherine Ngo Content writer, presenter and podcaster

Ms L, a Melbourne project business analyst, lodged an application to the Fair Work Commission in February after ANZ rejected her request to work from home five days a week full-time instead of returning to the bank's Docklands headquarters.

ANZ declined the 62-year-old's flexible work request after finding no medical reason to support it. The bank also noted that staff are expected to spend at least half their time in the ANZ workplace.

Following a tribunal, Fair Work Commission deputy president Ian Masson handed down his decision, ruling in favour of ANZ. 

"The premise of Ms L's case appears to be that ANZ is required to accommodate her fears about attending the workplace due to the risk of contracting Covid." 

"That ANZ should be expected to accommodate those fears, no matter how disproportionate those fears may be to the risk, is simply unreasonable."

Mr Masson also acknowledged that the bank had proposed measures to help mitigate Ms L's concerns. Ms L has been a permanent employee of ANZ since 2015.

"While Ms L may choose to take precautionary measures in her private life to protect herself against the risk of contracting Covid, that does not oblige ANZ to accept or apply measures in the workplace beyond what is reasonably practicable, particularly when community and workplace restrictions were relaxed by the Victorian government almost two years ago," he said.

Worker argues her age puts her at risk

During the tribunal, Ms L argued attending the office was pointless, explaining her job sees her work with a team based in India over video meeting platform, Teams, every second day. She said she had meetings with Melbourne-based employees over Teams as they were in different offices.

Further, Ms. L argued that she should be allowed to permanently work remotely due to her age and the guidance provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which advised that she was at an elevated risk of experiencing a serious illness should she contract COVID.

However, the bank told the tribunal that Ms L had infrequently attended the office until November 2023, had recently travelled interstate to care for her mother, and occasionally left her house for required tasks.

"In doing so, you have shown that you can and do break from your reported self-isolation despite the concerns you hold. On this basis, ANZ believes the attendance expectations it holds of you are not unreasonable," the bank said.

Ms L's lawyer, Mr V, said she was considering appealing the decision.

Changes to WFH in the Works

The debate over working from home continues, with political figures on both sides of the aisle weighing in on the issue. The latest development came from Melbourne's mayoral candidate, AFL star Anthony Koutoufides, who declared that if elected, his "first priority" would be to send government and corporate workers back into the city.

Koutoufides' proposal has sparked a lively discussion about the future of WFH, which has become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to adopt remote work policies. 

In New South Wales, Premier Chris Minns has indicated that he may end WFH privileges for public servants, which were introduced in 2019. Minns' proposal has drawn criticism from unions and WFH advocates, who argue that it would be a backward step that would disproportionately impact women, who comprise most of the public sector workforce.

In contrast, the Victorian Government has stated that it has no plans to roll back its flexible working arrangements, which allow employees to work from home up to three days per week. The government argues that WFH helps more women stay in the workforce and benefits the economy.

The future of remote and hybrid working in Australia remains uncertain, with the debate likely to continue for some time.