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. Parental Leave is the term used to describe leave taken by parents to care for a new born or adopted child. The standard award entitlement to parental leave applies to full-time and regular part –time male and female employees with 12 months continuous employment. It 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 provide:
Employees on parental leave have a right to return to their former position when returning to full time work. The Federal Workplace Relations Act continues to provide the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards regarding parental leave for those employees not covered by an award. These provisions differ slightly from the award provisions outlined above. In addition, some state governments have legislative provisions for maternity leave. If you not covered by an award and wish to access parental leave contact your Industrial officer for advice. 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. Award maternity leave provisions now form part of the parental leave entitlement (see more detail above). These provisions include the following:
A table of comparisons of maternity leave provisions around the world is available here. The information is sourced from the Maternity Protection ILO Convention No. 183, June 2001, published by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the Public Services International and Education International. Personal/carer’s leave covers both ‘sick leave’ and leave taken to care for a family member. The legislative standard for personal/carer’s leave consists of:
It is also important to note that personal/care’s leave is cumulative. 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
If you are considering taking on part-time work consider:
If you have any queries about the terms and conditions of part-time work or access to part-time work contact your Industrial Officer. 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:
What about your home?
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. 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. Discrimination by others 18% of all complaints accepted under the federal Sex Discrimination Act last financial year related to pregnancy discrimination. This is despite pregnancy being a normal and healthy physical condition. Illegal discrimination can occur if an employer discriminates against a staff member on the grounds of pregnancy or their potential to become pregnant. Only in limited cases of health risk and legitimate occupation health and safety concerns, will a pregnancy require a change to normal duties. Pregnant employees should enjoy the same terms and conditions of employment and employers should make reasonable adjustments to accommodate normal effects of pregnancy. Women cannot be denied opportunities in the workplace or be dismissed on the basis of pregnancy or the potential to become pregnant. Generally, job applicants are not required to provide potential employers with information about their pregnancy or potential pregnancy. Employers are obliged to seek the best applicant for the job irrespective of pregnancy or potential pregnancy. An employer's obligations also extend to their instructions to recruitment agencies. Minimum maternity law provisions also apply. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has published a useful report entitled "Pregnancy Guidelines". This is available on their website http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discrimination/pregnancy/guidelines.html. APESMA Industrial staff can assist you with any inquiries about pregnancy and the workplace. Please contact your local APESMA Industrial Officer. Self discrimination? Social structures support women as productive members of families and of the workforce for most of our adult lives. Women can also be seen "voting with our feet" as we seek, or remain loyal to, employers with family friendly terms and conditions. What responsibilities do we have to our employers when we become pregnant or are planning pregnancy? The only requirements upon women exist when they become pregnant; to inform their employers of their intention to take leave or if they become aware of an occupational health and safety issue. Check with your Industrial Officer for advice on the notice periods required for maternity leave. Despite the legislative approach which deems pregnancy or the potential to become pregnant irrelevant to our employment, training and promotion, do we discriminate against ourselves? Do we deny ourselves access to new jobs, promotions and training when considering families? This issue was raised at recent seminars where some women expressed concern about their responsibility to employers in the context of future intentions to become pregnant and take maternity leave. Balanced against this concern should be the advantages to employers of retaining experienced employees, which include:
All employees, not just pregnant women, have special needs. In today's knowledge and skills based economy, successful employers embrace the meeting of these needs as a key business driver. Women seeking to become pregnant should be cautious with their plans simply because experience shows that we do not all become pregnant when planned and sometimes it does not happen easily, or at all. You can also not assume that you will want more than 1 child until you have experienced parenthood. You may also not feel the same way about work/family balance issues after having children. It is important that we do not assume that our own capacity to contribute to the workforce and families will be mutually exclusive. Some tips for facilitating re-entry into the workplace include:
Please share your thoughts and experiences on this important topic via letters to the editor, Erin Wood, at women@apesma.asn.au. A current campaign by the ACTU aims to reduce the burden of work on family life. According to ACTU President Sharan Burrow "Family life is breaking down because of the pressure to work longer and unpredictable hours." The ACTU reports that Australians are now working the second longest hours in the OECD, with a third working hours that would be unlawful in Europe. In the context of declining Australian birth rates, this issue can also be seen to have a direct impact on the choices of working women about families and careers. A full Bench of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission is scheduled to hear the ACTU's Reasonable Hours Test Case submission in November. The ACTU is seeking to insert a Reasonable Hours Clause in 14 Awards, one of them an APESMA award, which have been selected for the proposed test case. APESMA is participating in this case along with the ACTU. More information about the ACTU's submission to the Commission and a report by Universities of Sydney and Adelaide report into the impact of work on the family life of fifty families, is available at http://www.actu.asn.au. By Andrea Mahony, Executive Officer, MFEA "The greatest benefit of paid maternity leave for employers is the increased retention of female employees and an associated reduction in turnover costs." Reports of our falling birth-rate and the ACTU campaign to extend paid maternity leave has put maternity leave entitlements in Australia back on the agenda. Australia is one of very few countries around the world to have no general provision for paid maternity leave. In most countries, leave is funded either by employers directly, or through social insurance wholly or partly funded by employers and employees. Australia’s birth rate is falling. The average number of births per Australian woman is now 1.76, below the 2.1 replacement requirement. The Australian Bureau of statistics predicts that 28% of women entering their reproductive years will remain childless. What is interesting about this is that childbearing and childrearing are again being discussed in terms of the national interest. One of the most commonly cited concerns about our aging population is the predicted shortfall in future funding for services and benefits for the elderly. Good for employers? The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) – formerly the Affirmative Action Agency – has reported evidence that family-friendly policies are good for business. Policies such as paid maternity leave are cited as increasing productivity and employee loyalty. Estimates of the cost to employers of paid maternity leave suggest the likely cost to individual employers to be minimal. Only five percent of women aged 15 to 45 can be expected to give birth in any one year, with the rate lower for employed women. Given that a proportion of these women would be ineligible for paid maternity leave, the cost to the employer is unlikely to be significant. The greatest benefit of paid maternity leave for employers is the increased retention of female employees following maternity leave and an associated reduction in turnover costs. EOWA found: "The costs associated with recruiting, training, relocating and replacing employees, along with remuneration, are a major expense for most organisations, and usually represent at least 50 per cent to 70 per cent of their budgets. Costs may be even larger for service organisations ... Research undertaken by the Council for Equal Opportunity in Employment amongst their members revealed that labour turnover costs can range from between 50 per cent to 130 per cent of the past incumbent’s salary." Employer examples A significant number of companies reported to EOWA that the introduction of paid maternity leave directly increased the proportion of women who return to work after maternity leave. The AMP, for example, reports that the rate increased from 52 per cent in 1992 to 90 per cent in 1997, with half of these returning on a part-time or full-time basis or working from home. Westpac reported that its retention rate increased from 54 per cent in 1995 to 93 per cent in 2000 as a result of introducing paid maternity leave. BT Australia reported a 100 per cent rate of return, stating that paid maternity leave was seen as intrinsic to returning mothers feeling valued and recognised. John Fairfax Publications reported that 88 per cent of women returned from maternity leave, compared to only 37 per cent in 1993, directly attributable to improved practices. Other companies, including Rothmans, Nestle, Polygram, Schindler Lifts and Young and Rubicon Advertising reported an increased retention of female employees as a result of new paid maternity leave and other family friendly policies. Corporate citizenship Companies which promote family-friendly policies are likely to enhance their reputation and image with customers and staff, according to EOWA. Corporate shareholders and the community are increasingly demanding high standards of conduct from companies, standards which include employee issues like equal opportunity. Publicity about family-friendly initiatives can benefit companies by bringing their activities to the attention of potential customers and clients, contributing to their competitive position. Reference: ACTU, Bargaining for Paid Maternity Leave, D. Nos 83/2000.
|
