Employers and employees can negotiate individual flexibility arrangements (IFA). The arrangement can vary some terms in a modern award or enterprise agreement to meet the needs of both parties. It’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the employee is better off overall than if there was no IFA.
Both the employee and employer must agree on the terms of an IFA. The terms of the IFA must be detailed in writing and it must be signed by both parties, or a parent/guardian for anyone under 18.
There is no requirement for employers or employees to lodge IFAs with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
Step-by-step guide and checklist
Our Best Practice Guide on the Use of Individual Flexibility Arrangements helps step employees and employers through the process and there’s a checklist.
It includes information on:
- how to make an IFA
- the effect of an IFA on an employee’s entitlements
- what can be included
- a case study
- what happens if an IFA is not made properly
- how an IFA ends.
Things the Fair Work Ombudsman can investigate
- The FWO can investigate claims that an IFA is not genuinely agreed to. The FWO can also investigate allegations that an employer applied undue influence or pressure to an employee to make or terminate an IFA
- A prospective employer cannot make an offer of employment conditional on the prospective employee entering an IFA. The FWO can investigate cases where it appears that this has occurred
- Where an IFA is in place, the FWO can investigate whether an employer has complied with the terms of the IFA
- An employer’s failure to ensure that an IFA meets the requirements in the Fair Work Act is a contravention of the flexibility term of the award or agreement. This includes the requirement for the employer to ensure that the employee is better off overall. The FWO can investigate any alleged contravention of a flexibility term.