ADVICE ONLINE

Work and Family Balance

• Balancing Work and Family
• Parental Leave
• Maternity Leave
• Carers Leave
• Access to Part-time Work
• Working From Home
• Childcare

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Balancing Work and Family

Both men and women have family responsibilities, although women continue to assume greater responsibility for the care of children and this is reflected in employment patterns.  The information contained in this section aims to assist professionals with family responsibilities.  If you have further queries please contact your local branch Industrial Officer.

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Parental Leave

Parental Leave is the term used to describe leave taken by parents to care for a new born or adopted child.

The Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard provides a total maximum of 52 weeks unpaid leave on a shared basis to care for a newly born or newly adopted child (under the age of 5 years). The entitlement is reduced by any period of leave taken by a spouse.

The parental leave entitlements include:

• a 12 month qualifying period with an employer for maternity, paternity and adoption leave;
• only one parent may be on leave at a time (aside from the 1 week’s paternity leave upon birth);
• fathers may take up to 51 weeks additional parental leave;
• if adopting both adoptive parents are entitled to an unbroken period of 3 weeks unpaid leave at the time of placement of an adopted child;

Employees on parental leave have a right to return to their former position when returning to full time work.

Paid parental leave and other additional entitlements do exist in an increasing number of workplaces and enterprise agreements. Check with your Industrial Officer if you are unsure which additional entitlements apply to you.

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Maternity Leave

In the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard:

• A maximum period of 52 weeks unpaid maternity leave for full-time and permanent part time employees. This includes a compulsory six weeks leave immediately following the birth.
• If a medical practitioner deems it necessary, and the employer finds it practicable there is provision for transfer to a "safe job" to protect the health and safety of the employee
• The maternity leave entitlement contains provision for special leave, should the pregnancy be terminated through other than by the birth of a living child. The leave is unpaid although it may be combined with the use of paid sick leave.
• Paid sick leave is usually unavailable during a period of maternity leave.
• Accrued long service leave or annual leave may be combined with a period of maternity leave within the maximum 52 week period.

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Carers Leave

Employees can access up to 10 days per annum of their aggregated sick leave and bereavement leave in order to care for a person who is either a member of their immediate family or household and who is sick. A doctor’s certificate or statutory declaration may be required.

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Access to Part-time Work

Today most awards provide for permanent part-time work and for pro-rata terms and conditions of employment. However the access to part-time positions often depends upon agreement between the employee and employer.

The benefits of part-time work include

• Retention of skilled and valued employees
• Reduced absenteeism
• Higher productivity of part-time employees (shown by research)
• Easier recruitment and retention by adopting "family friendly" policies

If you are considering taking on part-time work consider:

• Integration into the permanent workforce eg staff meetings
• Access to future career progression
• Managing workload
• When and how can you move back to full-time work

If you have any queries about the terms and conditions of part-time work or access to part-time work contact your Industrial Officer.

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Working From Home

Home based work is increasingly becoming available, reflecting the opportunities now provided by technology. Some employers have terms and conditions for working from home laid down in enterprise agreement. Often access to home based work depends upon agreement between the employee and employer.

There are many publications that highlight the benefits of working from home. These include increased productivity, flexible working hours, reduced absenteeism, enhanced job satisfaction, retention of staff & so on.

Employers need to be aware that the courts are prepared to find that they are acting in a discriminatory fashion by unreasonably denying access to home based work in instances of genuine family carer responsibilities.

It follows that some requests for home based work are reasonable & others are not. So how can you determine if your job is suited to work at home?

Consider:

• how important it is to be in the workplace
• the size, balance & composition of staff ie. are you the only specialist expected to attend on site at any moment
• how to you get access to the information & networks that easily operate in a workplace
• how you can attend meetings & ensure that you do not become too isolated
• how you will be supervised
• how you will maintain access to career progression & opportunities
• who pays for any special equipment, stationary requirements & expenses & how
• will the employer need access to your home
• how will you deal with clients

What about your home?

• are your occupational health & safety needs met
• will you be covered by workers compensation
• can you provide security for work related equipment & materials
• can you control the interruptions
• are you able to maintain a separate work space
• are you being realistic about child care arrangements

If you wish to work from home check whether you are covered by an enterprise agreement or company policy that contains work from home provisions.

Any complex arrangements affecting your employment should be put in writing to avoid future confusion or misunderstanding. Remember to contact your industrial officer for advice.

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Childcare

Access to nearby, affordable, quality childcare, that is available over the spread of hours you need, is essential for managing family responsibilities and employment.

Employers may sponsor childcare at either an in-house child care centre or an appropriate child care service. Financial assistance from your employer may be available though your enterprise agreement or by individual agreement.

Depending upon how they structure their employer sponsored in-house child care centre, some employers may be eligible for an exemption from fringe benefits tax. Further information on FBT can be obtained from APESMA Accountancy Services on 1800 506 016. Alternatively, contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) at www.ato.gov.au.or your own professional adviser.

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