Three-in-five employers offer paid parental leave
Three-in-five employers offer paid parental leave but few dads take up the offer to be primary carer
These schemes, which were offered by less than half the businesses surveyed in 2013-14, are now provided by 60 per cent of employers.
The biggest increase occurred among medium-sized employers (500-999 staff) where there was a 21-percentage point jump, with more than two-thirds of these businesses now providing paid primary carer’s leave.
Of these, 91 per cent of organisations providing primary carers leave make no distinction between women or men taking that leave, with 9 per cent of organisations providing primary carers leave to women only.
Paid primary carer’s leave is more common in big businesses than smaller firms, with only just over half of companies employing less than 250 staff offering paid leave entitlements on top of the federal government’s 18 weeks of payments at the minimum wage (currently $772.55 per week).
Workplace Gender Equity Australia (WGEA) Director Mary Wooldridge says there is still an element of stigma attached to men taking time off work to raise kids, but a societal shift is happening.
“Many have shifted from offering maternity leave to women to offering it in a gender-neutral way so that men and women can both access paid parental leave.”
“Over 3 million employees have access to paid parental leave in our latest reporting data,” Ms Wooldridge says.
She says aside from the personal satisfaction of parents bonding with their kids, taking time off work to raise children also leads to lower mortality rates and increased economic participation of women.
The WGEA pointed out that there is still a substantial gap between the proportion of men and women utilising primary carer’s leave.
Although more than half the organisations studied offered it to either men or women, mothers accounted for 88 per cent of the leave taken and fathers just 12 per cent.
How does this compare to non-government schools in South Australia?
Looking at the non-government schools in South Australia, paid parental leave conditions vary across the systems of Catholic, Lutheran and Independent schools.
Negotiations are currently being finalised for the Catholic Enterprise Agreement (EA) that will make no distinction between men or women taking that leave (gender blind).
In the 2020 Lutheran Schools SA EA both parents can take parental leave, however only the mother receives paid parental leave under the Lutheran EA; the father can take leave under the National Employments Standards (NES) but this is unpaid leave.
The Independent School’s EAs vary in their inclusions for paid parental leave, but the IEU is working towards these being gender blind and thus open to all primary carers.
Leave advice is a key benefit of IEU(SA) membership.
Members can speak to our School Organisers and get advice on the EA (and NES) regarding parental leave before planning to approach the school on what leave they want to take. For more information or assistance, call our office on 8410 0122 or email enquiries@ieusa.org.au
Sources
https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020-21_WGEA_SCORECARD.pdf
