PDA

View Full Version : Is more parental leave a good thing?



Newshound
27-02-2008, 10:38 AM
A recent Age article (http://smallbusiness.theage.com.au/starting/workplace/more-leave-'no-good-thing'-914150352.html) reported some employers were warning that Government plans to mandate up to two years unpaid parental leave. Their view being that this would create further casualisation of the workforce, presumably because employers would not want to hold positions open for two years.

It's an interesting issue. On one hand many parents want to spend more time with their infant children, and for good reason, on the other hand it can be very hard for an employer to hold someone's position open for two years and replace them in the mean time. However, it could be argued that it may be easier to find good calibre replacement staff for two year contracts that it is to find someone for 9-12 months.

The ramifications of the Government plans may not be quite so clear cut as some employers and employer advocate groups are suggesting.

What are your views?

NicoleL
27-02-2008, 10:40 PM
This is a very interesting issue.

I don't believe that more parental leave would put a strain on those businesses who afford work/life balance and the flexibility for employees, especially new mums, to return to work on a part-time basis particularly.

My experience has been where an organisation is not flexible in return to work options after maternity leave, they find it difficult to firstly see why they should hold a position open for 2 years but secondly to understand why it is that a mother would want to return back to the workplace in any case.

An organisation that is flexible will find the new mum wanting to return back to work on a part-time basis or even working from home. Productivity is there as the employee is committed to the organisation and the role they perform. There may even be the option of job sharing also and where an organisation allows such an arrangement, they are the ones that reap the rewards in terms of productivity and keeping the knowledge of that employee with the organisation. For these types of organisations, this plan would not be a problem.

Moz
17-04-2008, 12:14 PM
It is indeed a complex issue!

To some extent the difficulty this presents for employers depends upon the size of the organisation and the job the person was doing who went on maternity leave for two years.

The employer cannot assume that the person will come back part time, they have to assume the person may want their old job back, which means they may only be able to fill the position with a temporary employee, or at best offer it as a limited tenure position. Only after two years will they know whether the person is coming back full time, part time or indeed at all.

Furthermore, it is questionable whether a person can simply slot back into their old job after two years. A lot of changes can occur in two years.