A Westpac logo is seen on a building in Sydney, Australia, May 5, 2025. REUTERS
SYDNEY, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Australian bank Westpac will not appeal a labour tribunal ruling after it lost a case to compel one of its workers to be in the office twice a week, according to a bank spokesperson.
- The Fair Work Commission in October found in favour of Karlene Chandler, who challenged Westpac after it said she needed to work from a corporate office two days a week. Until earlier this year, she had been allowed to work remotely outside of Sydney.
- The decision means Chandler can work from home every day, despite a push by a number of bosses in the financial services industry to try to get more people back into the office.
- Chandler argued that travelling to a Westpac corporate office twice a week would take her at least two hours each way, adding that she was responsible for picking up and dropping off her children from school.
- Chandler said she was told by a Westpac manager that “working from home is no substitution for childcare,” according to the Fair Work Commission decision.
- Westpac Chief Executive Anthony Miller said at the bank’s results briefing this week he believed an in-the-office rule for two to three days a week was best for the bank’s workforce.
Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus
