The Clerks Award working from home clause (clause 5A) is now in force. The Fair Work Commission has added it to the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2020, giving covered employees a formal way to request remote working, or to put an existing arrangement on paper.
The new rules apply from an employee’s first full pay period starting on or after 26 October 2026. They cover clerical and administrative staff in a wide range of businesses, as long as the employee isn’t covered by an industry award with its own clerical classifications.
It’s worth being clear from the outset: the clause doesn’t give anyone an automatic right to work from home. What it does is set out a proper process for asking, and for recording what’s been agreed.
What the Clerks Award working from home clause covers
- What counts as working from home. Carrying out your duties at home, or at another location you’ve chosen and your employer has approved.
- How a request is made. The employee puts it in writing, setting out the specific days of the week, or the number, proportion or pattern of days, they would like to work from home. Making a request is a protected workplace right, so the employee is protected against adverse action.
- Adjusting award terms. Both sides can agree to change how certain award terms apply under the arrangement, including how ordinary hours are worked and when rest and meal breaks are taken. They can also enter into a facilitative agreement, which can change how other terms apply, such as the spread of ordinary hours or start and finish times.
- Individual scope. Each Clerks Award working from home arrangement is specific to that employee and their employer; it doesn’t extend to anyone else in the business.
- Putting it in writing. If both sides agree, the arrangement must be recorded in writing, setting out the agreed days, the location, any modified award terms, any facilitative agreement, the start date, and how the arrangement can be varied by agreement or ended by either party. The employer must keep a copy as a time and wages record and give the employee a copy too.
- Disputes. If the employee and employer can’t resolve a dispute about a request, they can apply to the Fair Work Commission for help under the dispute resolution procedure.
How this fits with other arrangements
The Clerks Award working from home clause is separate from flexible working arrangements under the National Employment Standards and from individual flexibility arrangements under an award, so those routes remain available alongside it.
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General information only, not legal advice. Check the official source before acting.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
