Rethinking work and family policy: The making and taking of parental leave in Australia

Baird, Marian; Litwin, Adam Seth

doi:10.1080/09540260500238306

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…22 There is no legislative provision for paid maternity leave, which is made available through collective enterprise bargaining or employer discretion. 23 However, workplace surveys suggest that the availability of paid maternity leave is limited, highly inequitable and varied both within and between workplaces. 24,25 In Australian workplaces, reported rates of the availability of paid maternity leave range from 30% to 50%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…24,25 In Australian workplaces, reported rates of the availability of paid maternity leave range from 30% to 50%. 22,23,26,27 Access to paid maternity leave is disproportionately concentrated in higher-status, full-time occupations, 26 and like unpaid leave, predominantly available to those women who have been employed with the same employer for more than one year. 27 The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) defines discrimination as '...acts that treat a pregnant woman less favourably than someone, in the same material circumstances, who is not pregnant'.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well‐being

Cooklin

Rowe

Fisher

2007

Aust NZ J Obst Gynaeco

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well‐being

Cooklin

Rowe

Fisher

2007

Aust NZ J Obst Gynaeco

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“…However, these benefits are disproportionately made available to managers and professionals (Kochan, 2005). Even for these white-collar employees, career concerns and workplace culture have discouraged their use (Baird and Litwin, 2005;Eaton, 2003).…”

Section: Signs Of Stress On Incumbent Employment Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Human Capital

Kochan

Litwin

2011

The Oxford Handbook of Human Capital

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This article assesses the future of human capital (HC) in organizations from an industrial-relations perspective. It notes that, paradoxically, while HC has grown in importance in the shift to a knowledge-based economy, the externalization of work that has accompanied this shift and the consequent weakening of labour market institutions has reduced incentives and pressures on firms to invest in people. The article suggests that this is a case of market failure. Resolving this paradox requires firms as well as unions, professional associations, staffing agencies, and the state to work together. The employment relationship thus becomes their unit of analysis, and this article explores the variety of institutional support which is necessary to rebuild and sustain that relationship in the future economy.

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“…Whilst recognising that the new ALP Federal Government is likely to ask the Productivity Commission to consider the effectiveness of different models of support for PML, there are nevertheless concerns about the equity impact of the shift to enterprise agreements and individual contracts on women's access to flexible leave entitlements (Baird, 2003Ellem et al, 2005;Pocock, 2005;Pocock and Masterman-Smith, 2005). The unpaid parental leave scheme has not been effective in expanding access, with Baird and Litwin (2005) finding low utilisation rates especially amongst males. Their research points to higher paid employees being more likely to use unpaid leave entitlements (probably to top up paid entitlements) and many employees being unaware of access to this entitlement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small firms, the paid maternity leave debate in Australia and the business case

Barrett

Mayson

2008

Equal Opportunities International

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the management of maternity leave in small firms and particularly to explore the perceived costs and benefits of paid maternity leave (PML). PML is a universal right in some countries (i.e. the UK), but not in Australia where most private sector female employees only have access to 12 months unpaid maternity leave. It also aims to explore how the business case for (or against) PML is constructed in small firms. Design/methodology/approach -The study was limited to smaller firms operating in the business services sector in the same regional area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight employers and female employees in six of these firms. Analysis by theme was undertaken within and across interview transcripts. Findings -Not one of these small firm employers offered PML and the cost of doing so was not considered to outweigh the benefits already realised through the (legislated) unpaid maternity leave scheme. In these firms maternity leave was managed in an informal way with notions of flexibilitygive and take -characterising what happens. Originality/value -The paper addresses the lack of research on access to family-related leave policies in small firms. Employer and employee views of the issue are drawn upon, the latter not often being heard. The paper contributes to understanding the construction of the business case for a specific issue in smaller firms and human resource management from a resource-based view more generally in smaller firms.

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Rethinking work and family policy: The making and taking of parental leave in Australia

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well‐being

Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well‐being

The Future of Human Capital

Small firms, the paid maternity leave debate in Australia and the business case

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