We start from a position of flexibility
Flexible work is available to you by default, regardless of:
- the reason you want it
- when you started your employment
- your role
All roles can have some type of flexibility.
But not all types of flexibility will work for every role.
If there’s a good reason a role can’t have a type of flexibility, managers and employees must look for a type of flexibility that will work.
We focus on outcomes
Rather than when, where and how we work, we focus on:
- the outcomes of our roles
- our team’s and organisation’s priorities
If you’re an executive or manager, you need to set clear expectations with your employees about:
- what outcomes they need to achieve
- what support they need from you to succeed
We lead by example
We can all support and champion flexible work.
This means executives and managers must model the principles set out in this policy to their employees.
And as we all serve the Victorian community, we must lead by example in how we work.
We put health, safety and wellbeing first
The health, safety and wellbeing of employees is at the core of flexible work.
With any flexible work, organisations, managers and employees must look at:
- what the risks are
- what harm those risks could cause
- how they could mitigate risks
If you’re a manager, check in with your employees regularly to make sure they have what they need to work safely.
We embed flexibility through the employment lifecycle
Flexible work means we may attract more diverse people to work in the Victorian Public Service.
So we need to embed flexible work at every stage of the employment lifecycle. This will help us attract, retain and develop our people.
With a more diverse and inclusive public service, we’ll better meet the needs of the Victorian community we serve.
We come up with solutions that work for everyone
Flexible work needs to suit us all and reflect a strong commitment to each person’s and team’s needs.
But we also need to balance this with our commitment to improving service delivery and outcomes for the community.
The best way to balance these is through open dialogue to work out how teams can best work together.
Flexible work must never result in:
- more work for employees who do or don’t work flexibly
- reduced service delivery to the Victorian community
We maintain privacy
We’re all entitled to have our privacy respected when we work flexibly.
And we all must comply with relevant privacy laws.
If you’re a manager, you must maintain your employees’ privacy when you discuss flexibility with them.
We embed a culture of growth and development
Regardless of position, we all need to work together to make flexible work successful.
This means organisations:
- train managers to support flexible work in their team
- support employees to succeed when they work flexibly
This means managers:
- promote flexible work in the team
- discuss and review flexible work with their team regularly at least every 6 months
- work with their people to support their performance
We champion equity
Each employee’s flexibility is different. Flexibility is available to all.
Flexible work helps employees balance paid work with other demands.
For example, flexible work may:
- help a guardian or parent work while someone else takes care of their child
- let carers meet the needs of the person they’re caring for
- support employees with chronic illness or chronic pain to balance their health with their role
- allow employees to observe their religion or culture
- give employees who are experiencing domestic violence time to seek support and resources
- support employees as they move to retirement
- support employees as they transition to a new gender
All of this helps us create a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the Victorian community we serve.
If you’re a manager and your employee has approved reasonable adjustments, you must support them to keep using these when they work flexibly.
Flexible work must not undermine career progression, pay or development opportunities.