Chapter 6: Leading practices and strategies in the workplace

In summary

• Many organisations, small, medium and large, are implementing leading practices and strategies to support and retain pregnant employees and working parents.
• Organisations are actively communicating the benefits of these practices and strategies. This serves to enhance understanding and support of the practices and strategies throughout the organisation.
• Many of these practices and strategies do not require substantial financial investment or a significant shift in the way an organisation operates.
• Critical to the success of these practices and strategies is firstly establishing the foundations for success, including:
  • that the right policies and practices are in place;
  • leaders within the organisation are vocal and committed to supporting pregnant employees and working parents within the organisation;
  • policies and practices are monitored and evaluated;
  • information is provided to enable informed and open discussions;
  • managers and employees are empowered and supported;
  • flexible work arrangements are facilitated.
• Secondly, success requires effectively implementing the strategies and practices. This requires managing pregnancy/return to work related issues in a holistic manner including: developing a plan from the time an employee announces her pregnancy; through to preparing for an employee’s parental leave; staying connected during parental leave; reintegrating after parental leave; and career acceleration upon their return.

Further information: Useful resources on legal obligations

• Australian Human Rights Commission: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/pregnancy-guidelines-2001
• Fair Work Ombudsman: http://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/parental-leave/Pages/default.aspx
• ASX Corporate Governance Council: http://www.asx.com.au/regulation/corporate-governance-council.htm
• Australian Industry Group Bizassist Infoline: 1300 78 38 44
• Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and state and territory Chambers of Commerce): http://www.acci.asn.au/
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency: https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2013-05-10_branded_ppl.pdf
• Some state and territory anti-discrimination and equal opportunity authorities have developed resources for employers and employees. For example, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission: http://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/index.php/our-resources-and-publications/know-your-rights-brochures/item/283-pregnancy-and-work-know-your-rights-and-obligations-oct-2012
• Some state and territory governments also have resources specific to their respective jurisdictions. For example, NSW Industrial Relations: http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/biz_res/oirwww/pdfs/Maternity_at_Work.pdf

Leading Practice: Leadership role modelling^[734]

As part of Telstra’s ‘All roles flex’ initiative, some leaders at Telstra added a message that is automatically included at the end of emails stating ‘We work flexibly at Telstra. I am sending this message now because it suits me, but I don’t expect that you will read, respond to or action it outside of regular hours’.

Consider special measures to facilitate participation of pregnant women and working mothers within the organisation

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) provides for Special Measures which can be introduced for the purpose of achieving substantive equality between:

• women and men
• women who are pregnant and people who are not pregnant
• women who are potentially pregnant and people who are not potentially pregnant.^[736]

Organisations can design targeted programs, policies and mechanisms around pregnancy, parental leave and return to work that fits within the special measures provisions. Such strategies would not be discriminatory if they are designed to achieve substantive equality between women and men in workplaces. Special measures can help to assist with overcoming systemic and cultural barriers experienced by women in employment.

In 2013, superannuation consulting firm Rice Warner offered a special measures package to its female employees to achieve substantive equality between men and women, to address the impact of unpaid caring work on retirement incomes and savings. The measures included: flexible working conditions, generous paid parental leave, superannuation payments and long service leave accrued during parental leave, access to an educational program - and an additional superannuation payment of 2% of salary.^[737]

Leading Practices: Ensuring that jobs and opportunities remain current while women are on parental leave^[738]

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) has a strong commitment to leading practices related to women during pregnancy, parental leave and returning to work.

Organisations ensure that they comply with all legal obligations during restructures and downsizing, but parental leavers can sometimes be overlooked for promotions and development opportunities, and over-represented in layoffs.



To address this challenge, CommBank monitors changes to the roles of employees on parental leave and proposed changes must be approved by the head of Human Resources, or relevant senior leaders. This ensures there is appropriate consideration given.

CommBank wants to make sure it retains its talented women whilst on leave so for now this centralised measure will ensure they can do that.

The organisation is also currently updating its extensive parental leave toolkits and resources to ensure employees have the best possible experience as they transition to and from parental leave with the support of their managers.  In addition, it supports parents by offering a broad range of flexible work and leave options, that includes working from home or another location, part-time or jobshare, flexible start and finish times and purchasing additional leave to cover school holidays.

Leading Practices: Sample parental leave pay policy^[740]

• ANZ provides 12 weeks paid parental leave at full pay (with no qualifying period) for the primary care giver; and up to eight weeks leave (one week of which is paid) for co-parents.
• A total of up to 12 months unpaid leave is provided to each parent (with the option to extend for up to 24 months), inclusive of the paid parental leave/co-parents leave. Periods of parental leave do not break continuity of employment, and the first 12 months continuous service for severance pay, long service leave and sick leave. Long service leave and annual leave may be taken in lieu of, or in conjunction with, parental leave, however this must be taken at the beginning of the period of parental leave.
• $4,000 Child Care Allowance (CCA) is provided to the primary care giver. Eligible employees will receive a CCA payment of $4,000 (pre-tax) which can be used in the way that best suits their needs. The payment aims to support primary care givers transition back to work and help them manage their family and professional commitments in that critical first year. This allowance became available on 1 October 2010. To be eligible for CCA, an employee must be a permanent employee who has taken parental leave as per ANZ’s Australian Parental Leave policy of at least 18 weeks where they are the primary caregiver. To receive the allowance returning parents cannot have a partner at home who is caring for their child full-time. If both parents work at ANZ, only one child care allowance is payable. The child care allowance is available to same-sex couples. To apply for the allowance, employees need to let their line manager know that they wish to apply for the CCA during their return to work discussion. The allowance is paid over four instalments, with the first payment to be made within one month of the primary care giver returning to work. The following payments are made in monthly instalments. The allowance incurs tax and cannot be salary sacrificed.
• Superannuation is included on parental leave payments. ANZ provides a minimum of a 9.5% superannuation guarantee on all forms of parental leave payments, including the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme (except for the Australian Government Dad and Partner Pay Scheme). The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution will be paid throughout the ANZ 12 weeks paid parental leave assistance. The payment will be made at the SG rate of the employee’s notional salary and is on top of the parental leave payment. The payment will be paid at the SG rate of the minimum wage and is on top of the Government’s payments. Superannuation will also be paid to anyone who takes one week paid co-parent leave. As a result of these payments, employees on parental leave will receive up to 30 weeks of superannuating payments.
• Employees at management level or above may retain and use their work provided laptop for the duration of parental leave to stay in touch if they choose.
• ANZ’s Performance and Remuneration Review Eligibility Policy states that women who have been at work nine months of the year should be assessed as normal, with any short term incentive calculated pro-rata. Guidance is provided to line managers on how they should use their discretion to increase salaries so that women on Parental Leave do not fall behind on pay relative to their peers, as this is one of the main contributors to pay disparity between men and women.

Leading Practice: Above and beyond with parental leave pay^[741]

Laing O’Rourke, a large Australian, privately owned construction company, has introduced a paid parental leave policy as well as a suite of policies to assist employees return to work after parental leave.

The company conducted an extensive consultation with their employees and found that, in order to achieve a level playing field across their workforce, particularly for carers, its focus needed to be broader than just financial support.

The company is now offering primary carers – who have been employed by the company continuously for 12 months – 26 weeks of paid leave, 18 weeks at full pay and eight weeks at half pay. Secondary carers (after 12 months’ ongoing employment) are entitled to four weeks of parental leave, two weeks at full pay and two weeks unpaid.

The organisation is also focusing on the support and connection aspects of their scheme, including keep-in-touch programs, return-to-work coaching and flexible work options for all employees.

Leading Practice: Alternate payment options for parental leave^[742]

Monash University, a large employer, provides three options:

Option 1

• Lump Sum or fortnightly allowance
• Employees may choose to return to work and receive payment in lieu of the 60% paid maternity leave they would otherwise have received.
• Employees may choose to take this payment in one of two forms:
  • a single lump sum payment; or
  • fortnightly payments as if they were still on maternity leave and receiving 60% of their ordinary pay for the number of weeks to which they are entitled. (This is in addition to the salary that they are earning on their return to work).
• Superannuation is not paid on the lump sum or fortnightly payments.

Option 2

• Employees can have child care fees paid in lieu of their 60% paid parental leave
• Employees may choose to return to work and have childcare fees paid through salary sacrificing. This is up to the value that they would have received through their 60% paid parental leave entitlement. If employees choose this option:
  • they must use a Monash childcare facility; and
  • the end date of their childcare cover must be no later than 52 weeks after they commenced parental leave,
• Staff are not entitled to superannuation paid on the money used for childcare benefits.
• If staff choose this option and the value of the childcare is less than what they would have been entitled to had they not returned to work, the University will not make up the shortfall.

Option 3

• Employees may choose to return to work on a reduced fraction (subject to the agreement of the University) and top up their salary (up to 100% of pay) with the unexpired portion of their 60% maternity leave entitlement, provided that they have already taken at least 26 weeks' paid parental leave and remain on a reduced fraction.
• If they choose this option, the end date of this must be within 52 weeks of the first day of parental leave.
• Superannuation is paid on the ‘top up’ amount so long as the top up does not exceed the substantive fraction.

Leading Practice: Superannuation contributions during parental leave^[743]

• In June 2010, the Westpac Group introduced a new entitlement which pays its employees a 9.5% superannuation contribution, in line with the Superannuation Guarantee Legislation, on unpaid parental leave for up to 39 weeks. Westpac Group employees are also entitled to an additional 13 weeks’ employer-provided PPL, with full superannuation payments, meaning employee superannuation contributions will now be paid for the full year of their parental leave.
• National Australia Bank (NAB) employees receive up to 40 weeks of superannuation contributions on unpaid parental leave at a rate of 10%, in addition to the 12 weeks of paid leave and superannuation already provided to parents by the bank. NAB has reported increases in its return-to-work rate of employees on parental leave from 65% in 2006 to over 85% in 2013.
• CommBank and Bankwest both contribute their superannuation payment for the 40 weeks of unpaid parental leave, once an employee has returned from parental leave for a minimum of six months.

Leading Practice: Return to work bonus

Three years ago, Caltex Australia found that women were twice as likely to choose to leave Caltex compared to their male counterparts, with female turnover being significantly higher at the point of returning from parental leave. One of the common barriers for women returning to work was accessing appropriate childcare. The company responded by creating the BabyCare Bonus initiative.

• BabyCare Bonus: A 3% bonus each quarter (a total of 12% per year on base salary) is awarded to the primary carer once they return to work, up until their child’s second birthday.
  
  In addition to being an inducement for returning to work, this payment is aimed at assisting to offset the additional costs to the employees, in particular, paying for childcare.

Since its introduction in 2012, Caltex has extended the initiative to a full package of initiatives, which aims to support the happy and effective return to work for primary carer employees. In addition to the BabyCare Bonus, the BabyCare Package now includes:

• Emergency BabyCare: Access to Dial-an-Angel mothercraft nurses or carers. This service is available for up to five times each year, to the value of $299 per session, until the child turns two.
• Help identifying appropriate childcare: Caltex partnered with Families at Work – Work/Life Specialists to provide a specialist service that assists parents locate the type of childcare they want for their baby.
• Nursing Facilities: Comfortable nursing rooms are available at the three major Caltex facilities, and are equipped with an armchair, sink, refrigerator and lockable door.
• Parental Transition Group: A group to support new and soon-to-be parents and grandparents, which meets monthly. Employees can attend in person or by video conference. The group also has a dedicated presence on Caltex’s internal social media platform, Yammer.

Initial indicative findings show that since the introduction of the BabyCare package, the company now holds significantly higher retention rates around staff taking parental leave. 93% of Caltex employees who took parental leave since the BabyCare Package was introduced in late 2012 have returned to work.

Leading Practice: Example of disclosure of gender related measurable objectives^[746]

ASX Corporate Governance Council Principles and Recommendations on Diversity: Commit to ‘developing a diverse pool of talented employees to ensure that we have the talent pipeline to fill critical roles now and into the future’:

• Increase the percentage of women in management roles to 40% by 2015.
• Increase female participation in Executive Leadership Development Program to 50% by 2015.^[747]

Leading Practice: Sharing information on parental leave^[749]

The Westpac Group’s parents@work program provides both mothers and fathers with the knowledge, confidence and support to transition successfully to and from parental leave, and to help them thrive as working parents. The program provides parents and their managers with access to a suite of options including:

• The parents@work interactive portal, accessible by all staff, where employees can access information about flexible work, company policies and government entitlements and a dedicated Q&A section supporting parents and carers. The portal also includes information about:
  • Childcare resources
  • Preparing for parental leave
  • Staying in touch,
  • Returning to work, and
  • Managing your career as a working parent
• Training courses - parents@work program seminars
• Personalised coaching

Leading Practice: Sharing information on parental leave^[750]

The ‘My Parental Leave’ guide for employees and the ‘Managing Parental Leave’ guide for line managers are the two key sources of ‘self-service’ information housed on ANZ’s intranet, which help the employee and their line manager navigate through every aspect of parental leave. They contain key facts, policy detail, timelines, checklists, sources of external information, benefits and processes.

The My Parental Leave Guide for Employees includes information relevant to the employee concerning eligibility, applying for leave, being on leave, and returning from leave – whether they are the primary care giver, the mum, dad, partner, co-parent, guardian or carer.

The Managing Parental Leave Guide for Line Managers includes information to help managers support their employees in checking eligibility, applying for leave, keeping in touch whilst on leave, and enabling a smooth transition when returning from leave. These guides also include signposts to government websites, and other external agencies.

Leading practice: Transitional coaching^[765]

Supporting the career development of employees on parental leave and facilitating their return to work through:

• One-on-one customised service for individuals preparing to return to work that recognises individual needs and circumstances
• Monthly ‘development and opportunity reviews’ with parents on leave to ensure career plans are understood and to identify opportunities to reignite career plans upon return
• A career coaching service including an information portal and seminars for parents within the organisation.

Benefits of accommodating requests for flexible work arrangements

Research from Australia and internationally shows that access to flexible work practices has a number of benefits for workers and employers alike, including increased efficiency; reduced absenteeism and turnover; reduced worker stress; increased job satisfaction; and increased capacity to attract and retain valued employees.

Designing flexible roles which focus on output and results, as opposed to ‘presenteeism’, is often more effective and has the added benefit of helping to retain employees who are unable to work full-time or need to work flexibly.

Contrary to the ‘ideal worker’ stereotype, research has found that employees in flexible roles tend to be more productive than their full-time colleagues simply by using their time more wisely.^[767]

In terms of total time of work, they’re producing the total number of hours they’re being paid for but if they’re at work working a nine to five ... the normal Monday to Friday role they say that they look back at the history of their work and they were not as producti[ve] in those 37½ hours ... because you spend time having a chat [etc.]. [B]ut overall if they’re part-time they’re performing every minute of those hours that they’re being paid for so the productivity is greater. I’ve not seen a decline, in fact we’ve had increases in productivity over those five years and they’re all measurable [as] we measure them at the end of every year.^[768]

[W]omen in flexible roles (part-time, contract or casual) have been found to be the most productive members of our workforce. Women in flexible roles waste only 11.1 per cent, compared to an average of 14.5 per cent for the rest of the working population. Given 43.2 per cent of women in the workforce work part-time, compared to 13.5 per cent of men^[769], this translates into an important productivity bonus that few employers recognise.’^[770]

Studies have shown that different forms of flexible work have generated different benefits, namely a compressed work week nearly doubled productivity and telecommuting increased productivity by 40%; flexible work schedules reduced turnover from 50% to 6% and companies that support flexible work arrangements showed 3.5% higher market value.^[771]

This means that, contrary to common erroneous assumptions about women in flexible roles ‘not pulling their weight’, the reality is that introducing or expanding flexible work options can lead to greater efficiencies and outputs in the workplace.

As workplaces change their ways of working, therefore, they are increasingly seeing that developing a flexible work force is becoming a business imperative.

The relentless pursuit and development of the best people must become part of everyday life for us. Flexibility is both a productivity and people imperative.^[772]

Leading Practice: Flexible work at a Not-for-Profit organisation^[776]

The Northern Territory Working Women’s Centre (NTWCC) Enterprise Agreement and policies provide the following:

All employees have the right to flexible work arrangements to assist them to meet their personal needs and/or family responsibilities. This right is particularly highlighted for staff returning from parental leave. The NTWWC will make all efforts to accommodate such requests, and can only refuse the request on reasonable grounds related to the impact of the Centre (which includes, but is not limited to cost, lack of adequate replacement staff, loss of efficiency and the impact on client service).

The Enterprise Agreement contains the model dispute resolution clause which means that if an employee’s request for flexible work has been refused, and other dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted, the employee may take the dispute to the Fair Work Commission for a binding resolution.

Leading Practice: Shared leave pool^[777]

A professional services firm created a shared leave program. Employees with serious illnesses or other emergencies can receive up to 12 weeks of additional paid personal leave from other employees who donate their unused time off. The company reports that fully 100% of needs for donated time are met by employees, usually within minutes of an employee making an anonymous request.

Leading Practice: Jobshare register^[778]

A large public sector organisation created a jobshare register to help staff and managers negotiate jobsharing arrangements.

This helped to address the common limitation of jobshare arrangements where an employee wishes to work part-time in a full-time role and cannot be matched up with another appropriate part-time employee within their direct work area.

The jobshare register will be promoted internally on the organisation’s intranet, and relevant employment guidelines and fact sheets will be developed to support its implementation, along with the toolkit.

Leading Practice: Schedule control^[779]

An American retail store chain Best Buy’s flexible work program, known as the ‘Results Only Work Environment (ROWE)’, provided workers with autonomy to determine when and where they worked based on individual needs and job responsibilities as long as they worked effectively. Flexible work options included work from home and increased schedule control such as self-rostering. Analysis of ROWE found that increased schedule control was responsible for positive outcomes including improved health of staff and reduced work-family conflicts.^[780] In addition, voluntary turnover rates reduced as much as 90% within teams implementing ROWE, resulted in savings of $2.2 million over the course of two years for one particular team, and increased productivity within teams by an average of 41%.^[781]

Strategies for embedding flexible work^[782]

Diversity Council Australia, a workplace diversity advisor, has identified key strategies for implementing flexible work successfully.

1. Get designing: Integrate flexibility into job descriptions, job and work design, and teams; integrate flexibility into performance reviews & development plans; assess performance on outcomes, and recognise outcomes can be met in different ways; treat flexibility as a management deliverable; explore possibilities of technology and alternative work strategies.
2. Get cultural: Ensure those who work flexibly are “accepted”; base relationships and expectations on trust; ensure flexible work is seen as the way things are done around here; challenge the stigma of working flexibly.
3. Get leading: Senior leaders genuinely commit to flexible work; leaders lead by example – they are effective role models for flexibility; leaders have an active approach to mainstreaming flexibility; leaders have the capabilities to manage a majority flexible workforce; all staff have the necessary skills to engage in flexible work.
4. Get talking: Show the business benefits; redefine flexible work by bringing it to life with examples; illustrate success stories – provide the details to enable others to copy; show how flexible work arrangements work on a practical level.
5. Get strategising: Identify flexible work as a business need; have a long term business commitment to flexible work; create a strategy for a majority flexible workforce – this is part of workforce planning; report progress and outcomes as part of standard business reporting.
6. Get universal: Foster a genuine acceptance of flexible work by all; ensure flexible work is available to all, regardless of job type or level; educate clients/customers and the community about flexible work.
7. Get resourced: Equip people with the tools they need (eg IT, team-based processes); provide appropriate resourcing for flexibility; review policy and systems that may impede flexibility implementation; explore new ways of meeting clients’ needs and consult clients and customers about this.
8. Get ROI: Engage in risk (eg not being flexible) vs return (eg retaining a skilled workforce) discussions; make the connection between flexibility and increased individual, team and organisational performance; measure the impact of flexible work and show the financial returns.
9. Get proactive: Look for opportunities to integrate flexibility into day-to-day business operations; focus on ‘why not flexibility’ rather than looking for reasons to ’block’ flexibility.
10. Get team-focussed: Consider the impact of flexible work on the whole team; focus on support from within and across teams; welcome team-based feedback on the impact of flexibility; create flexibly autonomous teams.
11. Get career-focussed: Create flexible career opportunities; integrate flexibility into senior roles.

Leading Practice: All roles flexible^[786]

Telstra has implemented a policy of making all roles flexible within its organisation.

Our purpose with ‘All Roles Flex’ was to adopt a new and disruptive position around mainstreaming flexibility that would amplify productivity benefits, lift engagement, establish a clear market proposition and also enable a new way of working, with technology linked very strongly to enabling this.

Early on, we had very strong and visible senior level – including CEO – support to make ‘All Roles Flex’ our standard, so this was really helpful in positioning the work.

To test our ideas first, we piloted the ‘All Roles Flex’ approach in our (then) Customer Sales and Service business unit (TCS&S), which contains roles in account management, contact centre and retail environments, among others.

The results of our three month pilot were compelling. In TCS&S overall, comparing roles not sourced as ‘flexible’ with those sourced as ‘flexible’, we saw:

• female representation among applicants increase from 28% to 32% (28% to 30% for external applicants, and 28% to 37% for internal applicants); and
• female representation among offers accepted increase from 37% to 50% (38% to 55% for external applicants and 36% to 44% for internal applicants).

The stage was therefore set for a more extensive adoption of ‘All Roles Flex’. Accordingly, as part of our symbolic actions to support the launch of Telstra’s new Purpose and Values in September 2013, it was announced that we would adopt ‘All Roles Flex’ in all Business Units at Telstra by the end of March 2014.

‘All Roles Flex’ at Telstra means that flexibility in some form is something we’re open to discussing for all our jobs. We have adopted a very broad definition of ‘flexibility’ in this regard, recognising that the practice will mean different things for different people and different work types.

Flexibility can include part-time work, different working hours, or working from different locations, instead of the traditional full-time ‘36.75 hour week’, and is practised in different ways across our many types of roles within both scheduled and non-scheduled environments. Flexibility in a scheduled work environment (such as a Telstra store) could mean the ability to express a preference to work certain scheduled shifts. Flexibility in a non-scheduled work environment could mean different working hours (ie later starts or earlier finishes depending on your situation); working at other locations (ie from home or another Telstra office if it’s more convenient); being open to hiring candidates in different locations; and reduced hours (ie part-time).

As with current practice, we will continue to expect our leaders to proactively engage their team members on ways of working that include flexibility to make sure that work and life can be balanced, and so aspirations and different life stages and events can be factored in. This is an ongoing expectation.

Our leaders will encourage team members to give flexibility a go by talking to their people, and modelling and trialling new ways of working.

We have zero tolerance for potentially unlawful discriminatory behaviour or anyone unreasonably refusing requests for flexible work. This is why a consistent and long term view is required to affect change, with ongoing focus on leader education, a spotlight on successful flexible working, and visible modelling of flexibility at all levels of the organisation, and in a variety of circumstances.

In 2014, Telstra ran the Employee Engagement Survey which asked employees to agree whether or not ‘at Telstra they are able to access flexibility and balance their work and personal life’. 84% of employees responded positively, an increase of 4% from the previous year, where the positive response rate was 80%.

The same survey also saw a positive change in employees’ views of their ability to manage work pressure.

Leading strategies for small businesses and organisations

Implementing strategies about pregnancy, parental leave and return to work can pose some particular challenges for small businesses and organisations. The National Review consulted with employers from small businesses and organisations who shared some practical, no-cost strategies to effectively manage pregnancy, parental leave and return to work. The small number of staff and tight-knit work environments can foster closer relationships and greater understanding between employer and employee.

Some positive workplace practices and strategies of small businesses and organisations include:

• Recognising that parents are an asset: Many small businesses provide niche goods and services and thus require staff with specific skills and experience. By valuing all employees as an asset to their organisation, small businesses understand that retaining pregnant women and parents is an imperative for the long term success of the business.
• Having open conversations: Open communication directly between an employer and employee, instead of through Human Resources, can facilitate trust and help to avoid confusion and uncertainty when an employee is pregnant, on parental leave and returning to work on flexible arrangements. Similarly, open conversations with all staff help to manage expectations and encourage a supportive work environment.
• Keeping in touch: A small business employer^[788] provided employees on parental leave advanced notice of any changes to their work or opportunities for training and professional development, such as working on projects from home. Employees on parental leave are sometimes invited to bring their baby to work and to team meetings and social gatherings.
• Simple, no-cost solutions: One small business owner^[789] allocated a spare room in the office to enable his employee to breastfeed her baby and express on return to work.
• Providing some leeway: Flexibility with shifts and allowing employees to cover for each other to accommodate early or later start and finish times.

Health and safety issues to consider^[793]

Risks and Hazards – Pregnancy

• Manual handling – lifting and twisting, muscles are often weaker during pregnancy as ligaments are more relaxed
• Heavy workloads and work intensity – bending, stretching, working on ladders
• Slips, trips and falls - centre of gravity changes when pregnant
• Low or high blood pressure - due to increased production of blood in the body when pregnant, can lead to light headedness and fainting.
• Prolonged standing – varicose veins, swelling of legs, ankles and feet, pelvic floor prolapse, lower back pain. Higher risk of blood clotting.
• Hazardous chemicals – can affect both mother and foetus through skin absorption, ingestion, and inhalation. A pregnant woman will breathe more frequently and deeply making her more vulnerable to the effects of the chemicals.
• Exposure to infections and viruses eg Rubella (German measles), chicken pox
• Fatigue
• Shift work - irregular work hours may be associated with a slight increase in the risk of spontaneous abortion and reduced fertility
• Heat stress – lack of air-conditioning and dehydration, especially concerning when toilet breaks are refused by the employer so employees do not drink enough water for fear of needing to go to the toilet.
• Biological hazards – occupational exposure, such as nurses who are at a greater risk of being exposed to Hepatitis B and HIV
• Hygiene practices - exposure to salmonella, toxoplasmosis (veterinary sciences)
• Gestational diabetes- special requirements, such as regular and frequent rest breaks, will be needed.
• Bullying and harassment – increased likelihood of experiencing bullying and harassment when pregnant and returning to work.
• Stress and depression
• Morning sickness – nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to smells and foods
• Injury during pregnancy and birth – hip and back injuries

Risks and Hazards - Breastfeeding

• Exposure to chemicals which can pass through into the breast milk and into the infant
• Work patterns, irregular hours, long hours, effect on supply
• Fatigue and shift work can affect supply
• Exposure to heat and cold in the workplace - heat stress and dehydration can affect supply of breast milk

Risks and Hazards – Returning to Work

• Post caesarean recovery and complications – heavy lifting
• Stress and post natal depression
• Bullying

Risks and Hazards Reproductive health - Fertility of women and men

• Exposure to hazardous chemicals (for example insecticides – farming, pharmaceuticals, factory workers, fruit pickers and packers)
• Radiation
• Lead exposure
• Fatigue
• Shift work/night work – effect on fertility

Leading Practice: Risk assessment checklist^[794]

Hume Bank, one of Australia’s leading regional mutual financial institutions, developed a Risk Assessment Checklist which details the risks associated with working conditions for pregnant women and women returning to work after giving birth.

The Checklist covers:

• Movement and posture
• Manual handling
• Protective equipment and uniforms
• Hazardous substances – infection risks and chemicals
• Working time (eg long hours)
• Work related stress
• Extremes of cold or heat
• Work at heights (eg risk of fainting)
• Work related violence
• Welfare issues (eg hygiene and storage for expressed breast milk)

The checklist is completed periodically throughout the pregnancy by the employee with her manager to promote conversation between both parties ensuring that any concerns can be openly discussed. The form is sent to Human Resources to action any issues which have been identified. For each of these issues, the Checklist outlines the nature of the risk and what questions employers should ask themselves in order to establish whether the work is safe.

• Does the woman have to stand for periods of eg more than 2-3 hours without a break?
• Does she have to sit for periods of more than 2-3 hours?
• Can the equipment and workstation be adjusted to fit the worker?
• Does the job involve awkward twisting or stretching?
• Are there space restrictions? Will these cause more restricted movement as the pregnancy develops?
• Does the job involve twisting, stooping or stretching?
• Does the job involve rapid repetitive lifting (even if lighter objects)?
• Does the job involve lifting objects that are difficult to grasp or are awkward to hold?
• Is the woman wearing the right size uniform replacement?
• Is the uniform replacement comfortable?
• Are there any infection risks at work?
• If so, are hygiene precautions adequate?
• Is the woman expected to work long hours/overtime?
• Does she have some flexibility or choice over her working hours?
• Does the work involve early starts or late finishes?
• Are there tasks which are known to be particularly stressful eg working with irate customers?
• Are colleagues and supervisors supportive towards the pregnant worker?
• Is the pregnant worker aware of what to do if she feels she is being bullied or victimised?
• Has the individual risk assessment taken into account of any concerns the woman has about her own pregnancy?
• Does the work involve exposure to temperatures that are uncomfortably cold or hot?
• Is the worker exposed to cold draughts even where the average temperature is acceptable?
• Are there arrangements for frequent breaks and access to hot/cold drinks?
• Does the work involve a lot of climbing up and down steps or ladders?
• Does the work involve carrying items or boxes up or down steps or ladders?
• Is the job one which is perceived to have a high risk of violence?
• Is there always support at hand to help staff who may be threatened or abused by customers?
• Are managers and supervisors aware of the extra risk for pregnant women?
• Is there somewhere quiet for pregnant workers to rest?
• Are they given easy access to toilets and more frequent breaks than other workers if needed?
• Is there a clean, private area for breastfeeding workers to express breast milk?
• Is there somewhere safe for them to store expressed milk?

Leading Practices: Tips for the initial planning meeting

• Have the right attitude. Good relationships between manager and staff member allow the best negotiations
  • Offer congratulations
  • Be understanding that decisions impacting family choices are important and can sometimes be emotional
• Be open and honest in terms of needs and expectations. Discuss the need to balance individual and organisational needs right up front. The more that the arrangement is set up as a partnership, the more successful it will be.
• Be prepared and informed. Create a check list that covers off on key issues. Issues to consider for an initial planning meeting include:^[795]
  • Employment rights and obligations, including Health and Safety (if relevant)
  • Policies relating to maternity leave (duration and pay)
  • The employee’s plans and expectations, including ‘unknowns’ (such as exact return to work date and whether the employee will want to return part-time or to flexible working arrangements)
  • Options for cover during maternity leave
  • How to keep in touch during maternity leave, including frequency and type of communication
  • Access to equipment such as mobile phones or laptops
  • Access to professional development opportunities while on leave eg training, job opportunities
  • Options for returning to work, including how to identify flexible working options if required
  • Timeframes for decision making (eg when will she make a decision regarding return to work date) and key dates and potential reasons for changes in dates and decisions (eg return date may be dependent on availability of childcare).
• Involve the right people. In addition to the employee and his/her direct manager, make sure any relevant individuals are involved or aware, for example, the Human Resources department, or in the case of small businesses and organisations, the owner or general manager.
  

  Negotiating return to work is done by [the] line manager. Human Resources gets involved when [the] employee gets no support ... Human Resources does [a reasonableness] test and tries to work out reasonable arrangements.^[796]

Leading Practice: Communication plan for employees on leave^[802]

Telstra has developed a communication plan for managing employees on leave.

Leading Practice: Employer provided childcare^[806]

‘The Treehouse’ is a Stockland built childcare centre, managed by KU Children's Services and located in its Sydney Head Office in the heart of the Sydney CBD.

It is a fully equipped, state of the art childcare facility licensed for 56 children, and provides long day care for children from birth to school age. Limited occasional care is also available.

Stockland’s PPL policy, support with childcare, flexible working arrangements and leading edge parental transitions program, has resulted in a significant increase in parental leave return rates – to 92%.

Leading practice: Child care resources^[807]

ANZ has downloadable ‘child care kits’ which provide employees information about child care facilities and fees, government assistance and rebates and options for child care (ie a Child Care Directory), looking after children when they are sick, vacation care programs and shift work.

Leading Practice: Return to work incentives^[808]

Beginning in April 2013, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) introduced new entitlements which pay all new mothers double wages for their first six weeks back at work as part of a 20-week paid parental leave package. The company, which owns CGU and NRMA Insurance, has offered the package to all eligible employees of its 10,000-strong workforce from April 2013.

Women applying for parental leave at IAG will receive 14 weeks’ paid leave, which was formerly the standard offering, and now an additional six weeks’ worth of double pay upon their return to work.

Leading Practice: Children’s room at work ^[809]

One small organisation created a ‘Family Room’ at work, with a bed, chairs, a computer with games, and a TV and DVDs. The room allows parents to bring their children back after school or have them attend themselves, so that the parents can complete their work day. The room can be used on occasion if a child is unable to go to day care or school, and is utilised nearly every day.



Another organisation created a ‘Parenting Room’, where employees can bring a sick child to work with them when child care options aren’t available. The room is booked online through the organisation’s portal, and is set up with a cot, change table and computer. The parenting room is large enough to fit several children and a working parent, if required.^[810]

Leading Practice: Flexible work arrangements^[811]

As of May 2012, Australian Defence Force members had access to the following flexible work arrangements:

• Temporary Home located Work (THLW): THLW enables a Defence Member to complete work at a specified location outside their normal workplace. It can be utilised in a temporary or occasional arrangement, or as an ongoing arrangement for a specified time, on a part-time or full-time basis.
• Variable Working hours (VWH): This policy allows Defence Members flexibility with their start and finish time as well as any periods of absence from the workplace. This may be utilised as a one-off or as an ongoing arrangement.
• Part-time Leave Without Pay (PTLWOP): PTLWOP enables Defence Members to work a reduced number of days or work part days in a fortnight pay period. PTLWOP may include jobsharing.

Leading Practice: Flexibility coaching program^[815]

One organisation’s Human Resources department piloted a flexibility coaching program with a small number of participants. The coach found that working with both the employee and their manager on an as needed basis worked well. As the flexibility coaching pilot continued, the organisation broadened the reach to include all senior managers who are managing flexible team members. The format for the coaching was changed to be more of an assistive service to supplement broader manager education on managing the workplace of the future.

Leading Practice: Breastfeeding policy^[818]

On 28 April 2010, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission approved the application by the NSW Director of Public Employment to vary the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2009 (the Award).

The variation includes the following provisions:

• A full-time staff member or part-time staff member working more than four hours a day is entitled to up to two paid breaks of up to 30 minutes each day for the purpose of breastfeeding or expressing milk.
• A part-time staff member, who is working less than or equal to 4 hours on any one day is entitled to one paid lactation break of up to 30 minutes on that day.
• Flexible arrangements achieved by mutual agreement between staff members and their supervisors.
• The Breastfeeding Policy seeks a flexible and consultative approach to the provision of breaks and facilities for breastfeeding mothers where both employees and supervisors have responsibilities. The Policy acknowledges that breastfeeding promotes the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies.

For more information, please contact NSW Industrial Relations at psir@industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au.

Small Business Leading Practice: Breastfeeding workshop^[819]

Tegan^[820] returned to her workplace, an automobile workshop, several months after giving birth. She advised her employers that she would need to breastfeed whilst at work.

The workshop, being fairly small and highly male-dominated, was unable to provide a room solely for breastfeeding. This posed a challenge because previous employees returning to work had stated that they didn’t want ‘a 17 year old staring’ whilst they breastfed.

The organisation decided that it was important to create a better work place culture for Tegan and other mothers where they could breastfeed comfortably. The employer consulted Tegan and the other mothers within the workplace about what questions and behaviour would be appropriate around them regarding their breastfeeding.

Using the information gathered, Tegan’s employers arranged for the younger apprentices to mix with the older employees and facilitated a discussion without Tegan present. ‘It was very much, let's all sit in the tearoom and have a chat about it...Let's talk about breastfeeding, what it is, how it works...why we do it, why we don’t do it.’

The information session was met with genuine interest and acceptance from employees.

After this information session took place, both Tegan and her employer reported a positive result, where a change in the workplace culture meant that Tegan was able to breastfeed comfortably without affecting her workplace relationships.

Leading Practice: Parking on campus for pregnant women^[821]

Melbourne University Parkville Campus Policy:

A parking permit to allow easier access to the workplace, may be granted to staff who are more than six months pregnant. A staff member who is pregnant and wishes to apply for a parking permit should consult the Parking Office...with a doctor’s letter indicating the expected date of birth of the child. A fee applies to parking permits.

Leading Practice: Managing the parental leave process before, during and after

‘Off boarding’ (ie those going on leave) recommendations:

• Managers to take a more active role in a parental leaver’s transition to leave - including talking employees through the Parental Leave Pack. To assist Managers talk through the pack and more broadly, increase Manager’s understanding of current legislation, obligations and [the Organisation’s] policies/processes, a Parental Leave Guide for Managers to be developed. Additionally, managers encouraged to assign the parental leaver a ‘buddy’ whose role is to keep in touch with the parental leaver whilst they are on leave and provide updates as/when appropriate.
• Ensuring adherence to the Parental Leave and Return to work Guarantee, policies, including all decisions on parental leave backfills requiring Human Resources’ involvement and subsequent approval.
• Increase accuracy of parental leave data - ensure that all employees taking parental leave are captured accurately in the Human Resources management system including their effective return date to allow us to proactively manage the careers of our parental leavers and therefore create a smooth return to work transition.

‘On leave’ (ie those on parental leave) - In addition to the current offerings of the parental leave seminars and parenting programs:

• Implement a ‘Stay in Touch’ Program designed to:
  • Alleviate the feeling of being ‘disconnected’ with the workplace.
  • Maintain levels of engagement to the workplace.
• Set clear expectations with Managers around their responsibilities in maintaining contact and therefore ‘checking-in’ with their employee regularly.
• Implement ‘Keeping in touch’ days - The Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth) makes provision for keeping in touch days, when an employee performs work for the employer on a day or part of a day while on a period of approved leave. Our plan is for managers to use this as a tool to engage employees and bring them up to speed quickly before their return to the workforce.

‘Onboarding’ (ie those returning from parental leave) - in addition to retaining and promoting our current offerings (eg, career coaching, parenting partner program etc.):

• ‘I’m back!’ Seminar: A session designed to provide additional support services to employees who have recently returned to work from parental leave and are combining work and family.
• Parental Leave Survey: Within three months of their return to work, all parental leavers to complete a Parental Leave and Return to Work Survey to obtain feedback on their overall leave experience, levels of satisfaction with our processes / programs etc and recommendations for improvement. This survey will allow [the Organisation] to validate the effectiveness of our measures.
• Supporting flexible work requests: Where parental leave employees request a flexible working arrangement, this should be considered as a ‘default’ yes – requiring a shift in mindset of our managers.