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Despite "enthusiastic speculation" about flexible work agreements being the "future" of employment, their long-term feasibility is still unknown, and they are not yet an "inalienable" right, a commissioner has said in upholding the rejection of an employee's request.

Queensland Industrial Relations Commissioner John Dwyer found the Office of Industrial Relations had reasonable grounds to refuse the employee's flexible work request, and had spent an "inordinate amount of time and energy" trying to accommodate her.

In May last year, the employer asked the Medical Assessment Tribunal officer to transition back to working in the office – she had been largely working from home for more than five years due to maternity leave arrangements and the pandemic.

Up until March this year, the employee was on a temporary flexible work agreement (FWA) that allowed her to work two days per week. During this arrangement, the employer made several flexible work proposals, the last being that she work three days per week including one day from home, but the employee rejected all of them...