Given the recent Australian Government’s jobs and skills summit its probably as good a time as ever to think about our employee’s leave entitlements and their purpose.
When I first started in Employee Relations my mentor (long time Employee Relations specialist) told me I needed to understand the fundamentals behind each leave type. Being a bit younger back then the whole story of Long Service Leave (LSL) originally being set around the time it took for a holiday break, including a ship ride to visit the UK or Europe, wasn’t that interesting to be honest. LSL seemed just as distant as getting access one day to my locked up preserved superannuation.
Then there was the reason for casuals. Paid a premium to offset the benefits received by permanent employees as their employment ended each time they finished work on a particular day.
Today new types of leave are steadily emerging or already available including Family Violence leave, Life Leave, Gender Affirmation Leave, Grandparents Leave, and even Pawternity Leave to support our furry friends. These all have real intentions and reasons behind why they exist.
From a HR/People perspective so many leave entitlements can be difficult to manage. It can be confusing for supervision as well.
Leave entitlements in total seem to be gradually increasing. Although I understand they are only entitlements and not all fully granted without a need to take. Is this making employment potentially more expensive or is it a talent attraction for those forward thinking companies? Should the old leave types like Long Service Leave be replaced with more contemporary and relevant leave types to recognise today's employee and company needs?
Whatever the answer ends up being, it won't be decided anytime soon but I think we are at the start of a journey towards redefining the modern day mix of leave entitlements for a changing workforce.
