Qantas and the ASU have just announced a groundbreaking agreement that will see the airline expand parental and domestic violence leave options for 30,000 employees. Is it time more organisations did the same?
The deal, which is due to be rolled out later this year, adds 10 days to family and domestic violence leave entitlements, as well as two weeks of parental leave. Workers will also receive two bonus annual payments. The airline joins the ranks of employers who have taken action on domestic and family violence, including Virgin Australia, NAB and Telstra.
Last week, employees voted by a majority of almost 94 per cent in favour of the agreement, one of the most strongly supported enterprise agreements in the airline’s history. The deal is seen as a trade-off for the inclusion of an 18-month wage freeze that the union described in February as a “hard sell.”
The agreement guarantees the parental leave and domestic violence leave entitlements to the 4300 workers at head office, as well as employees in its call centres, airport and check-in workers, catering, freight and engineering personnel.
In return for their “outstanding contribution,” CEO Alan Joyce announced bonus payments totalling $75 million for up to 25,000 employees. These include a one-off 5 per cent payment, and a record result amount of $3000 for full-time employees and $2500 for part-time employees. The cash bonuses come on the back of Qantas logging a record $1 billion net profit.
Qantas has also agreed to boost paid parental leave from 12 to 14 weeks, with the two extra weeks paid directly into employees super, unless they elect otherwise.
Qantas’ modelling indicates that this option will increase an employee’s super on retirement by $50,000. It is designed specifically to address the inequality experienced by women who have taken career breaks to care for children.
However, it’s in the domestic and family violence leave entitlement where the airline has shown itself as an employer in tune with current workplace issues. Anti-violence campaign group White Ribbon Australia applauded the move, and says that all employers should be supporting victims of domestic abuse with specified leave entitlements.
The move by Qantas sits in stark contrast to the Commonwealth Public Service, which suffered a reversal of policy over family and domestic violence earlier this year. Malcolm Turnbull’s department, the Human Services Department and the Australian Taxation Office to name just three, removed the right of their employees to take time off if they are victims of family and domestic violence. The service is overseen by the Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash.
Not convinced this is a workplace issue?? Would an employer be expecting proof or evidence from staff wanting DV Leave? What sort of proof would/could they expect? What would be the threshold for approval and who would make that decision? How long would the leave be? How much does an employer want to be involved in the private affairs of their staff? Employee Assistance Programs are often in place as well as Annual and Personal Leave provisions. No one supports DV in any way shape or form, but I don’t think this should be at a cost to employers who… Read more »
I agree with broadening the scope of personal leave to include dv situations. But does it need to be so explicit? Yes the victim will be affected and this may manifest in the workplace, but surely it’s a private matter to be dealt with confidentially and externally to the organisation. Despite the best intentions to protect sensitive information, paper based and electronic records are inevitably viewed by multiple people (HR, IT) which increases the risk of accidental disclosure. Just a thought.
Domestic Violence is unacceptable on any level. Many of us in HR have had the experience of trying to counsel someone in this situation. We also have more frequently experienced the sad but very true fact, that there are employees who will ensure they take whatever leave they believe they are entitled to – including making up deaths in the family to access Compassionate Leave. Presuming no employer wants to pry too much into an employee’s personal life, be prepared for people who will actually lie to gain access to an additional 2 weeks’ Leave. For a person who is… Read more »