SYDNEY, Oct 21 (Reuters) - An Australian retail bank

employee has been granted the right to work from home all the

time by the country's labour tribunal, as industry bosses urge

more workers to return to the office.

The Fair Work Commission, whose decision on the case is

being closely watched in Australia, found in favour of Karlene

Chandler, who challenged her employer Westpac, which

said that she must work from a corporate office two days a week.

The ruling, published on the Commission's website, said

Westpac had allowed Chandler to work remotely, but reversed this

earlier this year. Chandler is employed part-time in Westpac's

mortgage business and has been with the bank for 23 years.

Westpac was considering the commission's ruling, a

spokesperson for the bank said, adding that its return to office

policies were designed to "to ensure meaningful collaboration

within teams while providing flexibility to work from home".

Australia's financial sector has been moving towards having

staff back in the office more often than not, but the shift has

been slow at retail banks, with hybrid working popular.

Staff at investment banks are typically back more in the

office than their retail banking counterparts.

Chandler argued she lived out of Sydney and that travelling

to a Westpac corporate office would take almost two hours.

The commission's ruling said that Chandler was told by a

Westpac manager that "working from home is no substitution for

childcare". The commission said there was no reasonable ground

for Westpac to refuse Chandler's remote working request.

The commission can allow appeals of its decisions.

Reuters was unable to contact Chandler through the solicitor

who represented her at the Fair Work Commission.