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An employer made "no genuine attempt" to negotiate an employee's flexible work request, when agreeing to it would have benefited its business, the Fair Work Commission has found.

In February last year, the Ambulance Victoria paramedic requested a flexible work arrangement (FWA) under the relevant enterprise agreement, to accommodate her caring responsibilities. Specifically, she proposed shortening her night shifts from 6pm–8am to 9pm–6am.

A couple of weeks later, a manager told the employee her arrangements "can't be done" because that type of night shift didn't exist.

The employee subsequently applied to the FWC to deal with a dispute over whether the employer had reasonable business grounds for refusing her request...