Flexible work for employees

Under the Public Sector Act 2022, the employment of public sector employees should be guided by a set of principles which include equitable and flexible working environments.

While individual working arrangements may vary, all Queensland Government employees should be able to request some form of flexible work.

Employees can:

• discuss the flexibility that will help you perform at your best
• have input into designing some flexibility into your role.

The types of flexible work available vary. Refer to your organisation’s flexible work policy to understand the options available in your workplace.

Flex-connect encourages a team-centred approach to flexible work design. You should discuss with your manager and your team the options available to accommodate everyone’s needs, while ensuring stakeholder requirements are considered.

Benefits of flexible work include:

• extra quality time to do the things you love
• reduced commuting time and cost
• a greater sense of empowerment and autonomy, which can result in improved job satisfaction
• access to a broader range of roles in different geographic locations
• opportunity to balance caring responsibilities
• being able to accommodate a greater range of possible reasonable adjustments for people with disability or those recovering from injury or illness to ensure full participation in the workforce
• enhanced wellbeing from time to attend appointments during the day or improved safety
• supported transition to retirement or other experiences.

See benefits of flexible work and workplace presence for more.

Use the Flex-connect team conversation guide for help starting your conversation.

Once you’ve discussed with your manager where, how, and when work is done, you should capture it in a flexible work agreement. Refer to your manager and HR team to find out if your agency has a form for this, or if you can use this online form.

Complete flexible work agreement request

When completing a flexible work agreement ensure the request is in accordance with your organisation’s flexible work policy and the Flex-connect framework. You should also ensure the agreement acknowledges:

• your ongoing commitment to meet expectations and provide fairness to your team, customer, manager and organisation
• your priority for business continuity and your responsibilities to the business and operational plan, performance plan and statutory workplace obligations
• your personal responsibilities to meet your organisations health, safety, wellbeing, privacy and confidentiality policies when working flexibly
• that you will monitor and proactively address any negative or unintended consequences with your manager
• that you may negotiate from time to time the arrangement to suit the team, customer or workplace requirements, or if your circumstances change
• that the plan will be reviewed on the agreed dates
• that you will be required to complete a new agreement if you are appointed to a new role.

Your rights

Your current flexible work agreement should still continue until its review date, even if there is a change of manager, except if compelling business needs require a new agreement to be completed.

Your employer has 21 days from receipt of a flexible work agreement request to provide you with a written response. Your employer is required to provide a signed copy of the flexible work agreement noting the decision, conditions, reasons and grounds for conditions or refusal, and your dispute rights.

If you believe the decision about an application for flexible work is unfair or unreasonable, you can:

• follow your organisation’s employee grievance procedure
• lodge a public sector appeal if you have exhausted your organisation’s grievance procedure
• contact the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission which has jurisdiction to hear and decide a dispute under chapter 6 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, if you have exhausted your organisation’s grievance procedure
• seek advice from your union (if you are a member)

Maintaining a flexible work agreement is as important as establishing one. To ensure your flexible work arrangements support wellbeing and high performance:

• build trust by sharing and being as transparent as possible—communicate frequently, turn your webcam on in meetings and share your calendar
• demonstrate respect for colleagues when working flexibly—give reasonable notice of changed arrangements, be transparent about where you are working and consider a shared working online or offline or weekly schedule
• be clear about expectations—work with your manager about outcomes, outputs and expectations when working flexibly
• contribute to team cohesion—make deliberate, professional and informal contact, regardless of work location or differing work hours
• learn, share and adapt—learn from others who successfully work flexibly and share your experiences, be open to change behaviour, take time to re-evaluate how you do things and make small adjustments regularly
• be flexible, within flexibility—be willing to ‘give and take’ by considering the value of being present for activities such as inducting new team members, important stakeholder meetings or other work duties that require or benefit connection in person
• understand your impact—develop a strong appreciation of system and organisation issues, and flow-on effects to other colleagues, and always remain flexible about your needs and expectations of flexible work arrangements
• invest time developing your digital literacy—update and upskill in digital technologies to stay current and effective and to be able to participate fully in remote activities
• understand the bigger picture—for example that your manager oversees the ongoing performance and attainment of team deliverables, so needs to continue to assess and evaluate many factors as a team.