How to Support an Employee Returning from Parental Leave The Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) provides that employees who take parental leave have a return-to-work guarantee, which means they have the right to return to their pre-parental leave position. However, many employers do not consider the impact that an extended period of leave may have and expect employees to return to work with any little guidance or support. Employers will often assume that employees will remember the “lay of the land” and therefore will not require any assistance in starting work again. However, much can change in a short period of time, and many employees may benefit from being “reboarded” upon their return to work.
WHAT IS REBOARDING? Reboarding essentially refers to giving an employee a short onboarding upon their return to work after taking leave. This does not mean a practice needs to undertake a full induction process, rather, the practice should take the time to engage with the employee and bring them up to speed with what has happened in the workplace during their absence, such as policy and procedure changes. This is particularly important given the nature of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, which often results in shifting infection control requirements, density limits and general operational changes. Reboarding assists to promote productivity as it can help bring the employee up to speed faster and more effectively reintegrate them back within the workplace culture. Reboarding also ensures employers develop an appropriate plan to manage and structure the employee’s return, offer support to them, and reduce any stressors associated with returning to work. The concept of reboarding can also be applied to other employees returning from long-term absences (generally eight weeks or more). This may be due to long-service leave or an illness or injury.
KEEPING-IN-TOUCH DAYS In the context of parental leave, employees may benefit from using their “keeping-in-touch days” in the build up to their return to work. The FW Act provides that an employee on unpaid parental leave Is entitled to 10 keeping-in-touch days which are designed to enable the employee to keep in touch with his or her employment in order to facilitate a return to that employment after the end of the period of leave. Keeping-in-touch days are paid and can be worked as: • a part day
• a few days at a time, or
• 1 day at a time
• all at once.
A keeping-in-touch day could include any of the following: • taking part in a planning meeting • doing on-the-job training • doing work to become familiar with the workplace or role before returning to work. For example, if there has been a change in the way your practice performs a specific type of procedure, an employee could use a keeping in touch day to familiarise themselves with the process. Keeping in touch days do not break the employee’s period of parental leave. 34
EDITION 1 | 2022 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
