Work and Care Inquiry told “grandparental leave”, reduction in full-time hours needed

The Senate Select Committee on Work and Care was appointed by resolution of the Senate on 3 August 2022, having been constructed to inquire into the impact that combining work and care responsibilities has on the wellbeing of workers, carers, and those they care for. Various submissions lodged before the 22 September deadline advocate for the reduction of the full-time work week from 38 hours to 32 hours, along with the introduction of unpaid grandparental leave and increasing the accessibility of flexible working arrangements.

Early in September, the Victorian Branch of the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation (ANMF) outlined its recommendation that full-time ordinary hours should be reduced from 38 hours to 32 to enable workers to achieve a better balance of work and caring responsibilities. The ANMF proposed model would see the weekly wage for full-time divided by 32, instead of the current 38, meaning there would be no loss of pay despite the 6-hour reduction in weekly ordinary hours performed. The National Foundation for Australian Women supports the proposal, arguing that the IR system should be reconfigured, “so that it no longer reflects the gendered assumption that a 38-hour week is ‘normal’ and ‘full-time’ and that all shorter hours employment is a deviation from that norm and so subject to inferior employment protections, conditions, training and career paths”.

Separately, the SDA (union for retail employees) made submissions advocating for an overhaul of the right to request flexible working arrangements provisions contained within the National Employment Standards (NES), with the ANMF and National Foundation for Australian Women in strong agreement with such a proposition. The proposed SDA amendments would impose a positive duty on employers to reasonably accommodate workers’ needs in regard to flexibility of their working arrangements, while grounds for refusal of requests would be reduced and limited to circumstances of “unjustifiable hardship”. In addition, the SDA seeks the ability for refusals of a request for flexible working arrangements to be challenged before the Fair Work Commission, an amendment strongly opposed by employer groups, with Australian Industry Group observing the adoption of such a process “would inappropriately invite a third party such as the [Fair Work Commission] to intervene in the operational and rostering arrangements of a business and other affected employees”.

The SDA’s submission outlined further recommendations, including the introduction of an entitlement to 52 weeks’ “unpaid grandparental leave” for each grandchild – accessible up until the child’s 5^th birthday – the ability to return to work on reduced hours following a period of such leave, and making childcare more affordable and accessible.

The Committee tabled its interim report on 18 October, with the final report scheduled for the second sitting Tuesday in February 2023.

Pregnancy discrimination claims the “tip of the iceberg”

Also in September, Monash University business school released its report this month on the pilot study of Victorian women’s experiences at work. Authored by Associate Professor, Dominique Allen, and lecturer, Adriana Orifici, the report indicated few women lodge formal legal complaints despite the perceived prevalence of pregnancy-related discrimination in the workplace, with the pilot study finding most women experiencing it either make no complaint, or attempt to use internal resolution processes, meaning legal challenges were just the “tip of the iceberg”.

The report – Understanding Pregnancy Discrimination: Pilot study of Victorian women’s experiences at work – describes participants experiencing dismissal, changes to employment status, or changes to conditions of employment, with a number reporting their employers failed to make reasonable adjustments for medical conditions related to pregnancy or directed them to take paid or unpaid leave when they still had the capacity to work during their pregnancy, and even gave them directions inconsistent with medical advice.

Despite the purported prevalence of work-related pregnancy discrimination being experienced, the researchers determined that many women do not make a formal complaint because of prohibitive cost or the uncertainty of success, with most claims being settled confidentially or being withdrawn.

The report suggests that the Fair Work Commission and equality agencies collect more detailed data on pregnancy discrimination claims, including settled claims, and that further research be conducted to better understand whether the law supports women at work, and whether employers’ processes and practices promote substantive equality at work. The report authors recommend such future research should also include the perspectives of employers and HR managers.