The Fair Work Commission has added a new clause 5A to the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020, setting out how employees covered by this Award have, from 26th October 2026, the right to request an arrangement permitting them to work from home.
This means that employees can now formally request, in writing, to work from home or at another location chosen by the employee that is approved by the employer.
Employers are not required to agree, but would require valid reasons not to. The clause includes details on what must be included in a written agreement and how disputes will be resolved.
Why this matters if your employee is already working from home
Many clerical and administrative employees already work from home informally, but those arrangements don’t always fit the Award’s rules on continuous hours and break times.
Clause 5A allows employers and employees to enter into a facilitative agreement to adjust how those rules apply. It can be used for new arrangements or to formalise existing ones, for example, agreement on spread of ordinary hours and changes to start and finish times.
Not every office worker is covered. Employees covered by another award with clerical classifications, or by an enterprise agreement, sit outside the Clerks Award and are not covered by these rules at this time.
Clause 5A supplements and does not replace flexible working requests under the National Employment Standards and individual flexibility arrangements.
Working from home agreements under the Award
A request must be in writing and set out the days, or the number, proportion or pattern of days, the employee proposes to work from home. If the employer agrees, the written agreement must identify:
confirm the days or pattern of days
the work location
any modified Award terms dealing with ordinary hours and breaks
any facilitative agreements dealing with other Award matters
the start date
how it can be varied or ended.
The agreement must be made without coercion or duress and kept as a time and wages record. The employee must receive a copy.
How this may impact your business
Example - an existing arrangement: An accounts officer works from home on Fridays and logs off between 2.30pm and 4pm for school pick-up. That split day may not fit the continuous-hours rule. A clause 5A agreement can record the arrangement and the agreed modification, provided it includes every required detail.
If you decline a request, take care. Making a request is a protected workplace right, so you can’t take adverse action against an employee for asking.
Disputes can go through the Award’s dispute resolution process, including to the Fair Work Commission.
What employers should do now
Confirm which award or agreement covers your clerical and administrative employees.
Identify who works from home now and whether those arrangements are documented.
Prepare a clause 5A agreement template covering every required item.
Update your working-from-home policy and brief managers on handling requests.
Keep signed agreements with your time and wages records.
For more detail, see the Fair Work Ombudsman’s guidance on the new working from home rules.
Further Questions?
HRplus is here to help. Our team can review your working-from-home arrangements, check Award coverage and prepare compliant agreements, so you can be confident your practices meet the latest requirements.