Work-family researchers release election benchmarks
9 July 2007
All new dads should be paid two weeks' paternity leave and all workers should have the right to request part-time work or to work from home, a leading group of Australian researchers said today.
These policies are among a comprehensive set of work-life policies outlined in a document released today by 11 of Australia's leading policy academics in the lead up to the Federal election.
"A growing body of international research shows that giving workers more say over their working time arrangements improves the well-being of workers and their households," said the University of Sydney's Dr Elizabeth Hill, co-convener of the Work + Family Policy Roundtable.
Titled Benchmarks for Work and Family Policies in Election 2007, the document will be used to rate the major parties' work-family policies prior to the election.
Professor Barbara Pocock, Director of the University of SA's Centre for Work-Life and co-convener of the Roundtable with Dr Hill, said: "Giving parents more say in when they work, where they work and how much they work will also help business by improving retention rates and lowering absenteeism."
"Extending that right to all workers - for recreation, learning, pre-retirement planning and non-family care responsibilities - will ensure widespread community support for these rights and improve well-being all round."
Policies recommended by the Roundtable include:
- Two weeks' paid paternity leave for fathers
- Establishing a small business advocate to assist small business in reasonably responding to requests to vary hours of work
- 14 weeks' paid maternity leave, eventually increasing to 52 weeks' paid parental leave per household
- Superannuation contribution top ups for working women who take unpaid maternity leave
- Restricting long and/or unsocial hours and confining averaging of hours to four week periods or less
- Better integration of part-time and casual workers into the workforce, with access to pro-rata rights
"The evidence-based policy principles set out in our document are informed by the latest Australian and international research," said Dr Hill.
"We recommend that parties with a strong commitment to improving the reconciliation of work and family in Australia adopt a Charter for Work and Family based on the principles outlined in our document."
The full document can be downloaded from the Work + Family Policy Roundtable's website.
The members of the roundtable are:
Marian Baird, The University of Sydney
Deborah Brennan, The University of Sydney
John Buchanan, The Workplace Research Centre, The University of Sydney
Bettina Cass, The University of NSW
Sara Charlesworth, RMIT University
Eva Cox, The University of Technology, Sydney
Elizabeth Hill, The University of Sydney
Sarah Maddison, The University of NSW
Barbara Pocock, The University of South Australia
Alison Preston, Curtin University
Gillian Whitehouse, The University of Queensland
Contact: Richard North
Phone: 02 9351 3720