National Australia Bank secures huge work-from-home win

One of the big four banks has agreed to enshrine work from home rights in a watershed deal that could set a precedent in the banking industry.

One of the big four banks – National Australia Bank – has agreed to pay rises of up to 17.5 per cent over four years and enshrined work from home rights, in a watershed deal that could set a precedent for other banks.

All 25,000 employees, including senior managers, will have the rights to request to work from home and appeal “unreasonable” refusals.

The pay deal, which was negotiated over 16 months, will see workers earning less than $100,000 a year receive a five per cent pay increase this year, followed by another 5 per cent cent in 2024, 4 per cent in 2025 and 3.5 per cent in 2025.

The NAB deal may set the benchmark for other banks over WFH. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Glen Campbell

As part of the deal workers will also have increases to parental leave and be given more flexible workplace arrangements to help them through menstrual periods and menopause.

Finance Sector Union (FSU) national secretary Julial Angrisano said the improved NAB offer was a win for the thousands of bank workers who, last November, rejected the bank’s previous offer which failed to provide fair pay rises.

“Union members, acting collectively gave the NAB a clear message that they deserved better pay rises than the bank was prepared to pay them and by standing their ground, they have achieved a much fairer outcome,” Ms Angrisano said.

“More than 80 per cent of NAB staff have now secured guaranteed fixed salary increases instead of relying on NAB’s market-based model which eroded our members’ standard of living.”

Working from home has become a key area of workplace negotiations following Covid lockdowns.

CommBank employees are officially challenging a return to the office order through the Fair Work Commission. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Westpac is currently bargaining over working from home arrangements while CommBank is facing an eleventh-hour challenge to its return-to-office order, with the union asking the Fair Work Commission to “intervene”.

The bank has ordered its 49,000 employees back into the office at least 50 per cent of the time from next Monday, July 17, leaving many disgruntled after years of Covid-era work-from-home arrangements.

On Wednesday, the FSU said it had filed a Fair Work dispute over the edict — handed down by chief executive Matt Comyn and group executive of human resources Sian Lewis in May — which sparked an internal revolt and even threats of quitting.

Then, earlier this week, the Australian Public Service Commission agreed to some of the most generous work from home rights in the country, with no caps on WFH days, a bias towards approving requests and rights to appeal refusals.

Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett said public service staff working from home should have their pay docked because “they are saving money”.

Mr Kennett told Melbourne’s Herald Sun employees working from home were saving thousands of dollars in transport costs, as well as avoiding other stresses related to coming into the workplace, while public sector staff ­required onsite were out of pocket.

“Clearly, Victoria’s financial position is such that we cannot afford to be increasing salaries, so the most appropriate method is if a person chooses to work from home, whatever the number of days a week, their salary is reduced by the ­reduction in costs they would have otherwise incurred,” he said.

“There will be people making a decision (to work from home) because they don’t have to go through the trauma of driving to and from work, or (taking) the train or something – they save money and it saves them all that stress.”

Originally published as National Australia Bank secures huge work-from-home win