The FSU recently helped save a member’s flexible working rights after the big bank he worked at got personal about his caring responsibilities.
Our member is the sole provider for his elderly parents and works from home to care for his unwell elderly father. He has been working from home for four years with no issues and consistently achieves high performance ratings.
Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, his employer began probing into his caring responsibilities and asking intrusive questions in a bid to curtail his working from home.
This included detailed (and unreasonable) requests for sensitive medical information about his father’s condition.
“All of a sudden they told me I had to provide a medical certificate to prove my caring responsibilities, which I did, and the certificate was quite specific about what needed to happen to ensure my dad was looked after”, our member said.
“They then began asking for details of my father’s medical conditions and at one point, even suggested I put my father into a care facility or get my elderly mother to take on caring role responsibilities, just so I could return to working in the office.”
His employer even went to extraordinary lengths of asking for quotes as evidence that our member had genuinely searched for an aged care facility and could not afford it. They also suggested his girlfriend (who doesn’t live with him or his family) could occasionally look after his father so he could go into the office.
“I just found their questions and demands very stressful at a time when I already had a lot on my plate with work, caring responsibilities and trying to pay a mortgage to keep a roof over all our heads.”
When our member was called into a meeting with HR, he knew he had to seek help from the FSU.
“I rang the FSU’s Member Rights Centre and an FSU Advocate listened to my concerns and subsequently attended the meeting with me,” he said.
“It was really important he was there. I wouldn’t have got a good result without him. He was great, articulate, thorough and knew his stuff.
With the support of the FSU, our member was able to retain his working from home rights and continue caring for his father. He now also only needs to provide a doctor’s certificate every six months for his caring responsibilities to continue.
“It’s important to be in the union because without support this could have turned out very differently. Having representation like this is a real benefit and worth every penny.”
If you’re not already an FSU member, you can join today and have FSU in your corner when it counts.
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