Australian Business one step ahead of the Paid Parental Leave Debate

An article on ninemsn reports that while the major political parties battle over paid parental leave policies in the run up to Saturday's election, Australian employers are already offering some form of paid parental leave.

According to the Paid Parental Leave Pulse Survey conducted by Hewitt Associates last month, 71 percent of the organisations surveyed already offer fairly generous paid parental leave, with 36 percent given 12 or more weeks.

However, some are not yet sure how to address this issue, with over half (57 percent) of the respondents undecided about what changes they will make to their paid parental leave policies.

Tim Powell, Hewitt Associates Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, said: “As the major political parties battle-it-out on paid parental leave policy, a third of companies are waiting for the election outcome before they commit to implementing company policy”.

Nevertheless, Powell advises that Hewitt’s research has found that on the whole, Australian businesses lead the way in recognising the role paid parental leave plays in retaining an experienced and motivated workforce.

“This survey has found that irrespective of federal policies and politics, the majority of Australian corporates are already offering paid parental leave; seeing it as a competitive advantage to attract and retain talent in an increasingly tight labour market”.

“However, with different timeframes being thrown around by the Coalition, Labor and the Greens, some organisations are unsure of what best practice is and how to implement it.”

“Depending on the outcome of the coming election, we expect these companies will review paid parental leave policies and payments, to maintain this as a differentiator beyond what will be required under federal legislation.”

For more information on Hewitt Associates or to access their reports see: http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/AP/en-AU/Default.aspx

Mitrefinch’s Time and Attendance system is a powerful tool for analysing and managing employee time and the associated costs. Record unplanned absences, holidays and paid parental leave, building a yearly absence profile for further analysis. A built-in current and projected manpower planner allows management to act or plan work schedules according to available resources, skills sets etc...

For more information contact Mitrefinch on 1300 884 831, sales@mitrefinch.com.au or visit us online at http://www.mitrefinch.com.au/