Employment Hero: Bureau of Meteorology dismissal should not cloud remote work discussions

Mutual trust and tight safety precautions are vital when allowing employees to work overseas, Employment Hero co-founder Ben Thompson says, after the high-profile dismissal of a Bureau of Meteorology scientist who worked from the United States.

As reported by the Australian Financial Review, the Fair Work Commission recently rejected data scientist Diandong Ren’s unfair dismissal claim against the BoM, after hearing that he misled the weather-monitoring organisation about his whereabouts.

The FWC heard Ren took a four-week holiday to the United States in 2022 but was not seen in the office or active in meetings nine days after his expected return to Australia.

Analysis of the IP address Ren used while supposedly working from home pointed to a location in Texas, and documents tendered by the Department of Home Affairs stated Ren actually returned to Australia more than two weeks after his expected return.

The AFR reports Ren travelled to the United States a second time, for three months, despite the BoM refusing his request to take personal leave to visit America and the data scientist’s claim he was working from home.

The BoM ended Ren’s employment in 2023, saying Ren had not followed its policies for remote work, and potentially exposed the bureau to cybersecurity risks by accessing its digital systems internationally without adequately informing management.

Ren’s unfair dismissal claim argued he was permitted to work overseas, and that his computer system was enabled to work ultra-remotely.

The BoM’s own website advertises “opportunities for travel and potential regional or overseas assignments”, and like many other organisations, it showed extra latitude to international work through COVID-19 lockdowns.

It also advertises “additional support for working in remote locations”, highlighting its openness to work outside of major metro centres.

But the FWC ultimately sided with the BoM, finding it made specific requirements of its overseas work policies clear to employees.

The FWC also acknowledged the evidence showing Ren worked in America when he said he was in Australia.

Two-way communication is key

Businesses ought to consider the case and its implications, Thompson says, as remote and even international work becomes normal practice in many industries.

Without endorsing the behaviour of the former BoM employee, or critiquing the bureau’s communication strategy, Thompson said the case is “another telling example of why employers and employees need better dialogue around flexible work”.

In a best-case scenario, clearly communicating those policies to employees can open productive discussions with workers who want to explore remote working opportunities.

“The best employment relationships are grounded in trust and transparency on both sides, not secrecy or an unwillingness to accommodate greater flexibility,” Thompson said.

Standout case should not discourage remote work

The case should not deter employers from offering remote work options, he continued.

“Employment Hero has allowed current employees to work from overseas, so it’s a topic I’m well-versed in; if it’s known where and when employees are working abroad, necessary protections can be put in place.”

Employment Hero allows employees to work remotely, including overseas, so long as the business can legally employ them in that location, the worker has a legal right to work there, and there is written permission from the business.

This includes employees who relocated from Australia to the United Kingdom in early 2023.

Madeline Maggiore, who started with Employment Hero in 2021, and is now based in the UK, described the transition as “transformative”.

“Since the move to London, my work/life balance has significantly improved,” Maggiore told SmartCompany.

“It’s allowed me to follow a work routine that aligns with my personal interests and empowers me to be more productive.”

Georgia Lambert, who also transitioned to working from the UK, said the move has not affected her productivity.

“Asynchronous and synchronous communication is so key,” she said.

“I am committed to also maintaining my professional relationships with colleagues across the globe and outside of the UK team – including Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia”.

Thompson said Employment Hero has benefited considerably from this kind of flexibility.

“For us, being remote-first isn’t a gimmick or a money-saving exercise,” he said.

“Not only does it allow us to access the best talent from a global rather than local talent pool, it essentially lifts a huge weight off our employee’s shoulders by giving them freedom and flexibility.

“Our growth has been because we are a remote business, not despite it.”

Australian tech firms adopt remote work

Employment Hero’s stance towards remote work hews closely to another Australian-born tech juggernaut: Atlassian.

Atlassian permits staff to relocate to any of the 13 countries it has registered entities that can employ them, and permits workers 90 days each year away from their ‘home’ location.

This month, the company behind some of the world’s most-used business software released a report on the first 1,000 days of its “Team Anywhere” plan.

“The conversation on remote work is too caught up in where work happens, and not enough in how it happens,” said Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar.

“The reality is, most businesses already work in some form of a distributed way – whether that’s customers and clients in different offices, or colleagues across timezones.”

There are obvious caveats to the positions taken by Employment Hero, Atlassian, and even the BoM: not every business can operate with a distributed workforce, making this kind of ultra-remote work more feasible for knowledge workers.

“It’s up to business leaders to determine the best approach for their business,” Thompson said.

However, “we are proof that if your team are 100% knowledge workers, remote work is a huge business accelerant where productivity, performance and team morale can thrive when considered deliberately,” he continued.

So long as there is clear communication between staff and management, that is.