Members are entitled to flexible start and finish times and the accrual of Flex hours whether working remotely or at the office.

The PSA understands members at the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) have been told they are not to accrue Flex hours when working from home. The PSA has raised this with HR last year, when initial issues about this matter were raised by members. HR’s initial response was that the provisions of the Flexible Working Hours Agreement should apply regardless of whether members are working from home or not.

The PSA reminds members to maintain accurate timesheets recording your actual working hours (whether working from home or the office) and to reasonably accrue and request Flex leave, as per the current agreement.

Given staff have been directed to work from home, unless their work can only be done from an office location, the PSA provides members with the following advice:

1. Ensure you keep accurate records of actual hours worked, as your timesheet is an auditable record and any erring from this is a serious issue.
2. If you are working from home, you should have the same access to flexible start and finish times and reasonable accrual of flex, as you would if working from the office.
3. Any direction that you cannot accrue flex time when working from home, or a limitation on your daily flex accrual time when working from home, is not compliant with the Flexible Working Agreement. Management cannot arbitrarily impose this additional restriction, not contained in the agreement.
4. Management cannot simply quote “operational needs” to justify a blanket rule to deny employees access to flexible hours on certain days. Operational needs can be met without imposing a Flex time restriction and it is a managerial responsibility to effectively manage teams to facilitate this.

If you have been advised that you are not allowed to access flexible start and finish times or accrue Flex leave, or if you are having any meetings in regards to changes to your role descriptions or your work, please contact the PSA for assistance.