Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The employer is to
agree to a request under section 33(4) or (5) or 38(4)
unless —
(a) the
employer, having considered the employee’s circumstances, is not
satisfied that the request is genuinely based on the employee’s parental
responsibilities; or
(b)
there are grounds to refuse the request relating to the adverse effect that
agreeing to the request would have on the conduct of the operations or
business of the employer and those grounds would satisfy a reasonable person.
(2) The employer is to
agree to a request under section 38(5) unless there are grounds to refuse
the request relating to the adverse effect that agreeing to the request would
have on the conduct of the operations or business of the employer and those
grounds would satisfy a reasonable person.
(3) The employer is to
give the employee written notice of the employer’s decision on a request
under section 33(4) or (5) or 38(4) or (5) and, if the request
is refused, the notice is to set out the reasons for the refusal.
(4) Without limiting
subsection (1) or section 38(7)(a) the grounds on which a refusal
under subsection (1)(b), or a requirement under section 38(6), may
be based include the following —
(a)
cost;
(b) lack
of adequate replacement staff;
(c) loss
of efficiency;
(d)
impact on the production or delivery of products or services by the employer.
(5) If a request is
made under section 33(4) or (5) or 38(4) or (5), the subject
matter of the request may be enforced as a minimum condition of employment in
a manner set out in section 7, and in any enforcement proceedings the
onus lies on the employer to demonstrate that the refusal of such a request
was justified under subsection (1) or (2), whichever is applicable.
[Section 38B inserted by No. 36 of 2006
s. 39.]