Do employees have to return to the office?

In 2020 working from home became the new norm during the pandemic. Fast forward to 2021 and the old norm of working from the office is making a comeback with many workplaces directing employees to return to the office, despite some employees still wanting to stay at home.

A recent survey identified that many people still want to work from home in part. Employers I have spoken too often have mixed views from the 'everyone must return full time' to 'part time in the office' to 'as long as they are productive at home I don’t care'. Concerns ranged from whether some staff can be adequately supervised at home or whether they are as productive at home.

From a legal perspective, a manager can issue a directive to an employee to return to the office. An employee must comply with a reasonable directive. In the current climate, a directive will be reasonable if the employer ensures working in the office is safe and their Covid-safe plan is adhered to.

An employee can face disciplinary action from their employee if they refuse a reasonable request to return to the office.

Employees can have other legitimate reasons for wanting to work from home, like supporting family. An employee can officially request flexible working arrangements under the Fair Work Act, like working from home to pick up kids from school, for part days or full days. The employer must consider it.

Outside the law, the issue of morale and productivity. Many employees still have concerns about outbreaks and so flexibility for employees should strongly be considered.

Love it or hate it, the answer will be specific to your business and if you want get the best advice, contact our employment lawyers [Lachlan Edwards](https://ofrm.com.au/our-team/lachlan-edwards) on 03 5445 1031 and [Siobhan Liston]((https://ofrm.com.au/our-team/siobhan-liston) 03 5445 1067.