Overview
- The Fair Work Commission delivered the ruling on Monday, concluding Macedon Ranges Shire Council had reasonable business grounds to refuse a request to increase remote work to four days a week.
- The applicant, Steven Polak, is a senior planning and building liaison officer who had a long‑standing hybrid pattern and asked in November 2024 to add an extra WFH day citing age‑related fatigue, a desire to avoid night driving, and a dependent’s need for access to his car.
- The council twice rejected the request and an internal appeal, saying the statutory planning team needs a regular onsite presence and that Polak’s experience is needed to mentor a much changed, less‑experienced team.
- Deputy President Kamal Farouque accepted that Polak could perform much day‑to‑day work remotely but found the council’s operational and team‑cohesion reasons sufficient to lawfully deny the extra WFH day.
- The decision underscores a wider legal trend where courts weigh personal or health reasons for flexible work against concrete business needs and signals that councils and other employers may lawfully require set days onsite to protect supervision and knowledge transfer.