📢 A recent Fair Work Full Bench decision is a wake-up call

📢 A recent Fair Work Full Bench decision is a wake-up call for employers handling flexible work requests.

In Naden v Catholic Schools Broken Bay [2025], the Full Bench overturned a previous ruling and found that the employer’s refusal of a flexible work request was unlawful despite having reasonable business grounds.

Why?
Because the employer failed to meet all four requirements under the Fair Work Act, including:
1️⃣ Genuinely discussing the request with the employee
2️⃣ Attempting to reach agreement
3️⃣ Considering the consequences of refusal for the employee
4️⃣ Providing refusal on reasonable business grounds

In Ms Naden’s case, the school:
Took 82 days to respond (well beyond the 21-day legal limit)
Did not address the personal impact of the refusal in writing
Only focused on business reasons (e.g. cost, disruption, staffing)

The Full Bench made it clear:
👉 All four requirements are mandatory
👉 Business reasons alone are not enough
👉 The written response matters a lot

⚠️ Employers:
If you’re refusing a flexible work request, your response must:
Be on time
Be in writing
Show that you’ve considered how refusal will affect the employee
Explain why you’ve made the decision clearly and lawfully

📌 Takeaway: Poor process = unlawful refusal, even with solid business reasons. HR teams and managers must tread carefully and document every step.

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