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\u201c[Working from home] certainly works well in some contexts, but that should be determined by the employer in consultation with the employee,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari was supportive of the move, noting that 40 per cent of workers were already doing some variation of hybrid work, according to the Grattan Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking from home is probably the greatest improvement to work-life balance since we won the weekend … so for [Labor] to enshrine it, it\u2019s a big deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some mistrust out there that people will be doing the wrong things [while working from home].<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the truth is, it just makes people\u2019s lives easier. That\u2019s especially so for women \u2013 women\u2019s participation in the workforce has gone up a whole notch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consultation on the laws will be led by the Department of Premier and Cabinet. It will consider the type and size of businesses covered by the scheme, who can reasonably do their job from home, and must also arrive at an acceptable definition of what constitutes remote working.<\/p>\n
Daniel Victory, principal lawyer in employment and industrial law at Maurice Blackburn, called the topic of working from home a \u201cbarbecue stopper\u201d \u2013 it was the No.1 employment issue people wanted to talk about.<\/p>\n
He said it would likely be easier for the government to enshrine hybrid work in law for those in the public sector under current workplace laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to enshrine a right [to work from home] for the private sector might be open to challenge, but we\u2019ll just have to wait and see what the legislation is and how it\u2019s framed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if an employer could challenge it, I don\u2019t know why they would challenge a right like this if it\u2019s reasonable … any employer who doesn\u2019t want to allow work from home, it sort of like feels like they want to go back to the dinosaur ages.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece told Nine\u2019s Today program it was clear that hybrid work arrangements were not going away but it was important not to lose \u201ccollaboration and new ideas\u201d that came with being physically present in the workplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily-friendly, flexible workplaces should absolutely be here to stay,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I also know that Melbourne\u2019s at its best when it\u2019s full of people, and I think workplaces are at their best when they\u2019re full of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government expects to pass the laws next year, setting the stage for the 2026 state poll as the first major policy announcement to be debated in an election year.<\/p>\n