Canadian Payroll Reporter

News Published 12 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $179 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 E-mail: carswell.customerrelations @thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1T 3V4 Director, Carswell Media Karen Lorimer Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber Editor Sheila Brawn sbrawn@rogers.com Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson Assistant Editor Mallory Hendry Marketing Manager Robert Symes rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9551 Circulation Co-ordinator Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com (416) 649-9585 Payroll Reporter Can R Can R adian adian a www.payroll-reporter.com ©2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-7798-2810-4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher (Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business). Return Mail Registration # 1522825 | Return Postage Guaranteed Paid News Revenue Toronto Canadian Payroll Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications: • Canadian HR Reporter — www.hrreporter.com • Canadian Occupational Safety magazine — www.cos-mag.com • Canadian Payroll Reporter — www.payroll-reporter.com • Canadian Employment Law Today — www.employmentlawtoday.com • Canadian Labour Reporter — www.labour-reporter.com See carswell.com for information July 2016 | CPR the employee's request, it must notify the employee in writing, indicating a start date for the flexible work arrangement. If an employer rejects an em- ployee's request, it must tell the employee why. The U.K. govern- ment lists a number of legitimate reasons for turning down an ap- plication, including: • the flexible work will result in extra costs that will hurt the em- ployer • the employer is unable to re- organize the work among other staff or recruit others to do the work • flexible work will affect quality and performance • the employer will not be able to meet customer demands • there is a lack of work to do dur- ing the working times the em- ployee requests • the business is planning chang- es to the workforce. U.K. law does not give employ- ees a statutory right to appeal an employer's decision, but the gov- ernment says that if employers offer an appeal process, it could help to show that they dealt with the request in a reasonable man- ner. This is important because if an employer does not handle the request reasonably or treats the employee poorly because of the request, the employee may com- plain to an independent employ- ment tribunal. It can order an employer to pay compensation or damages or reinstate an em- ployee who was terminated for making a request. Australia In Australia, not all employees may ask for flexible working ar- rangements. The right is limited to employees who are parents or have responsibility for children who are school age or younger, caregivers, disabled, 55 of years of age or older, or are experienc- ing domestic violence or provid- ing care to an immediate family member suffering domestic vio- lence. In addition, employees must work for their employer for at least 12 months before they can make a request. Employees must put their re- quest for a flexible work arrange- ment in writing, explaining what changes they would like and why. Employers are required to respond to a request in writing within 21 days of receiving it. Like the U.K., Australia re- quires employers who reject a request to tell the employee why. Employers may only refuse a re- quest for "reasonable business grounds," similar to the ones the U.K. lists. Employees who do not agree with their employer's reasons for refusing a request may complain to the country's Fair Work Com- mission only if their employment contract permits it. The govern- ment says the commission can- not order an employer to agree to a flexible work arrangement (un- less an employment contract al- lows it), but it can work with both sides to try to resolve concerns. United States Closer to home, both the state of Vermont and the city of San Francisco in the United States have provided employees with the right to request flexible work arrangements since 2014. In Vermont, all employees have the right to ask for a flexible work arrangement for any reason. Em- ployees may make the request verbally or in writing. Employers are required to discuss and con- sider requests in "good faith" at least two times a year. Like the laws in the U.K. and Australia, the legislation in Ver- mont allows employers to con- sider business impacts when deciding whether to allow a re- quest. Employers have to notify employees of their decision, but the Vermont law does not specify a timeframe for informing em- ployees. In San Francisco, the right to request flexible work arrange- ments only applies to employees working for employers with at least 20 workers. To be eligible, the employees must be employed by their employer for at least six months and regularly work a minimum of eight hours per day. Employees can only request a flexible work schedule for cer- tain reasons in San Francisco, including to help with caregiving responsibilities for a child under 18 years old, for a family member with a serious health condition or for a parent who is 65 years of age or older. Employees must put the re- quest in writing, detailing the type of flexible work arrange- ment they want, how long it would last and how it is related to their caregiving responsibili- ties. The employer must meet with the employee to discuss the request within 21 days. After the meeting, the employ- er has another 21 days to make a decision and notify the employee in writing. If an employer rejects a request, it must provide a "bona fide business reason" for it. Bona fide business reasons allowed in San Francisco are similar to those permitted in the U.K. and Aus- tralia. Employees are allowed to ask their employer to reconsider a decision and the employer must do so. In the U.K., Australia, Ver- mont and San Francisco, em- ployers can face penalties if they terminate, discriminate or oth- erwise retaliate against an em- ployee who makes a request for a flexible work arrangement. Mihychuk did not say whether the Canadian government fa- vours a specific jurisdiction's ap- proach or prefers a blend of rules from each. In coming months, it is expected the government will announce whether and how it will give federal workers a right to request flexible arrangements. Its decision and how provin- cial and territorial governments respond could have an impact on workplaces across the country. from FEDS on page 3 Vermont, San Francisco off er fl exible options In coming months... the government will announce whether and how it will give federal workers a right to request fl exible work arrangements.

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