These sample clauses may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting an employment agreement to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Sample clause for managing part-time employment
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
‘Part-time employment’ means regular weekly employment for less than 38 hours per week.
Part-time employees will receive the same entitlements as a full-time employee on a pro rata basis calculated by reference to the number of regular ordinary hours worked each week. Part-time employees will be entitled to the same parental leave entitlements as full-time employees (i.e. unpaid parental leave of 52 weeks, and related entitlements).
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Sample clause for managing job-sharing
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
The employer and employees, in continuing to value people as our key asset, recognise that job-sharing is often an effective means of reconciling the competing demands of an employee’s work and family responsibilities.
Job-sharing is a voluntary arrangement where two or more employees share one full-time job, each working part-time on a regular, ongoing basis. Job-sharing can only occur if the relevant employee’s manager gives approval in writing for the job-share arrangement, which sets out the parameters that will apply (e.g. who will work on what days and hand-over and communication processes between job-sharers). The job-sharing arrangement will be for a fixed period, after which it will be reviewed by the employees and the manager.
If an employee or employees wish to initiate a job-sharing arrangement, they may discuss this with their manager. The manager will consider client service requirements and operational requirements in determining whether to approve of the job-sharing arrangement.
Each job-sharing arrangement will be reviewed on a regular and ongoing basis, to review its viability and effectiveness. In addition, job-sharing, in general, will be reviewed during the life of this Agreement to assess the ongoing viability of such arrangements if deemed necessary by the parties.
An employee working under a job-sharing arrangement is considered to be a part-time employee and accrues leave benefits on that basis.
An employee participating in a job-sharing arrangement:
- may volunteer to temporarily cover for their job-sharing partner in the case of an unplanned absence such as personal/carer’s leave,
- is not required to work full-time should their job-sharing partner be absent on extended leave,
- has the opportunity to renegotiate their part-time hours or revert to full-time employment should their job-sharing partner cease their arrangements prior to the expiry of the job sharing period.
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Sample clause for managing teleworking
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
To balance organisational and personal needs, the organisation will provide opportunity for employees to undertake some work responsibilities from their homes. Positions identified as being suitable for providing some work away from the workplace will have the following characteristics:
- the nature of the work is compatible with it being undertaken away from the workplace,
- consideration of impact on organisational/unit outcomes has been included in the decision.
Employees may work away from the workplace only when consideration has been given to:
- team, unit and organisational needs;
- equal employment opportunity;
- occupational health and safety (OH&S) issues;
- service requirements;
- role and expected outcomes of the position;
- productivity and efficiency;
- individual needs.
If the organisation approves of a particular employee performing certain duties from home, the organisation will provide approved reasonable equipment to enable the officer to work from home should the officer not have approved equipment. The organisation will also maintain adequate communication with the employee while working from home.
Both the organisation and the employee are required to comply with occupational health and safety legislation. Employees will be required not to place at risk their own health and safety or the health and safety of any other person.
Any employees working from home will be covered by workers’ compensation legislation during the agreed hours of work.
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Sample clause for managing flexible hours
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
The office hours are from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Saturday. Within these hours you may work on a flex-time basis under which you choose your starting and finishing times each day, averaging 38 hours per week over a period of [period: maximum of 12 months applies] and subject to office convenience and the approval of the Manager.
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Sample clause for managing an hours bank
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Each employee will be required to work an average of 38 hours per week. If the workload demands, employees may be required to work more than 38 hours in a given week, on the understanding that hours worked will be averaged (or ‘banked’) over a period of up to [period: maximum of 12 months applies] to ensure clients’ orders are filled. Any hours worked in excess of 38 each week will be ‘banked’ for the employee, who can take time off at an appropriate agreed time within the agreed period, or use the ‘banked’ hours in conjunction with a period of annual leave.
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Sample clause for managing annualised working hours
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Employees will work an average of 38 hours per week, annualised over a twelve-month period. In the months of October to March, hours will be 48 per week, Monday to Saturday. In April through to September, hours will be 28 per week, Monday to Thursday. Employees will be paid a standard weekly wage based on 38 hours each week of the year.
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Sample clause for managing seasonal starting and finishing times
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Due to variations in hours of daylight throughout the year, working hours will vary in the summer and winter months. In the months of October to March, working hours will be from 6.00am to 2.00pm. In April through to September, working hours will be from 8.00am to 4.00pm. Employees will have an appropriate break each day, totalling two hours each working week, so that ordinary hours are no more than 38 hours per week.
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Sample clause for managing purchased annual leave
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Subject to an employee having at least 12 months of continuous service, the employee may elect to purchase 1, 2, 3 or 4 weeks additional recreation leave per year. This election must be made by 31 January each year. The amount of leave bought will be paid for through a corresponding reduction in fortnightly pay spread out evenly over the course of the year. These arrangements count for service.
This additional recreation leave must be used within 12 months of purchase or the entitlement will lapse, in which case the employer will pay to the employee an amount for unused additional recreation leave. An employee is entitled to a refund of any unused additional recreation leave at the end of the accounting year, unless they have specific provision to carry it over.
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Sample clause for managing sabbaticals
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Employees may apply for and be granted twelve-month career breaks subject to agreement with the Employer, such agreement not being unreasonably withheld.
Where an employee applies for leave pursuant to this clause the Employer shall respond to such applications within four weeks.
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Sample clause for managing job-swaps
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
Job swap opportunities shall be considered on a case by case basis.
A Job swap may be considered where it is judged that:
- the employee is suitable for the job after a reasonable period of adjustment; and
- it would be of no detriment to the efficient operation of the gaining section;
A job swap to another organisation may be considered if it would be of no detriment to the efficient operation of the employer to swap that employee and if a suitable employee from the other organisation is available
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Sample clause for managing volunteering leave
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
The employer recognises the importance of volunteer programmes that assist not-for-profit community organisations. To help facilitate employee participation in volunteer programmes, employees will be entitled to a maximum period of {insert period of leave} leave with pay per calendar year. To assist with organisational demands at the commencement of each year, or on commencement in a new position, employees will be required to discuss with their manager their intentions for accessing volunteer leave.
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Sample clause for managing a flexible workplace practices document
This sample clause may help you introduce flexible working practices into an employment agreement. However, you should always seek independent legal advice when drafting employment agreements to suit the needs of your particular organisation.
It is recognised that there must be flexibility in building a distinctive and supportive working environment, and that the processes and the workplace culture must focus on business needs.
To achieve workplace flexibility and high productivity, we are committed to:
- building employee capability,
- supporting teamwork and local solutions,
- achieving balance between work and family commitments,
- providing equal opportunity,
- promoting leadership capability.
The manager and employee may negotiate and reach agreement at a team level on more flexible employment arrangements that will better meet the operational needs of the workplace having regard to the needs of the employee (including taking into account the employee's family and other non-work responsibilities).
(Refer to clauses above for specific clause examples relating to part-time options, job-sharing and teleworking
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