Victorian small businesses will have no choice but to allow employees to work from home two days a week under new laws proposed by the state government.
Premier Jacinta Allan confirmed that all companies, regardless of size, would have to abide by the new legislation, despite suggesting last year the government would consider an exemption for small businesses.
Allan made the announcement on Tuesday while dismissing concerns the laws could lead to a High Court challenge.
‘We have advice that it is constitutionally valid,’ she said.
‘But let’s be clear: what does it say about someone who wants to race off to the High Court to strip away a worker’s right to work from home?
‘To strip away something that saves workers time. To strip away something that saves money. And to strip away something that is good for the economy.’
Allan said while many larger organisations and companies already offer flexible working arrangements, the 1.3million Victorians employed by small businesses don’t necessarily have that right.
‘If you can work from home for a small business, you deserve the same rights as someone working for a big bank,’ she said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has confirmed all businesses, regardless of size, will have to allow their workers to work from home
The move has sparked backlash from business groups, who say the ‘one size fits all’ model doesn’t reflect how smaller businesses operate.
Scott Veenker, from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the laws could create a significant ‘regulatory burden’, with some small-to-medium businesses forced to consider moving their operations interstate or overseas, reports The Guardian.
‘It’s just another added impost. They don’t necessarily have HR departments to engage with and to consult,’ the Chamber’s acting chief executive said.
‘I’ve spoken to a number of businesses over the last couple of weeks and they just have a lot of dismay, in terms of not understanding why it’s necessary and why it needs to be done.
‘If you make business too hard, they’ll go elsewhere and that’s the last thing we need in Victoria right now.’
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, which previously called for exemptions for businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees, opposed the plan.
‘This proposal duplicates existing federal legislation, adds another layer of compliance, and creates further uncertainty for small business owners who are already spending almost a day each week on regulatory paperwork,’ chief executive, Skye Cappuccio, said.
It remains unclear how the legislation will be enforced.
The move has sparked backlash from business groups, who say the ‘one size fits all’ model doesn’t reflect how smaller businesses operate
Further announcements are expected to be released during this week’s parliamentary sitting week.
Allan’s plan to enshrine remote working arrangements into law comes after she first touted the plan at the Labor Party’s state conference in August.
She said the reforms would help close the gender pay gap, pointing to research from the Centre for Economic Development of Australia that found employees who work five days a week from home worked 20 per cent more.
Allan has also previously flagged amending the state’s Equal Opportunity Act, which prohibits discriminating against individuals based on protected personal characteristics such as race, sex, age, disability, marital status and religious or political belief.
