ADA HR FEATURE

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 • 1 day at a time • a few days at a time, or • 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.

ADA HR FEATURE

FLEXIBLE UNPAID PARENTAL LEAVE

In November 2020, the FW Act was amended and introduced the concept of flexible unpaid parental leave. This type of leave enables the employee to take up to 30 days of their maximum 12 months unpaid parental leave period on a flexible basis. It may be taken as a single continuous period of one or more days, or separate periods of one or more days. Flexible unpaid parental leave can be taken for a variety of reasons, including to assist with gradually returning to work. For more information on flexible unpaid parental leave please contact the ADA HR Advisory Service.

HOW TO REBOARD AN EMPLOYEE

The reboarding process should commence prior to the employee’s return. This may involve the Practice making contact and providing updates to the employee about any changes in the workplace. Practices may wish to engage with the employee to understand whether they wish to take any flexible unpaid parental leave (subject to the notice and evidence requirements under the FW Act) or whether any other temporary arrangements to assist the employee are necessary. Employees should be provided with the opportunity to review any new processes and procedures in the workplace, read through any new policies and have time to digest this material, and ask questions if necessary. Practices must understand that the needs, priorities and perspectives of the employee may change during their time off and these should be reasonably considered by the employer when reboarding them.

ENSURING REBOARDING SUCCESS

When reboarding has commenced practices should: • Seek Advice: Leverage the learnings from the latest employees who have returned after an extended period off. Discuss the things that worked well for these individuals and how things could be improved in the future. • Be Emotionally Aware: Employees may return to work with a different perspective, it is important for practices to be aware of the employee’s emotional state and offer employees regular check-ins and a comfortable environment to discuss how they’re feeling. • Acknowledge Workplace Changes: Returning employees may feel overwhelmed when realising that their colleagues or former subordinates have moved into a position with greater responsibility, often above the returning employee. In these instances, this information should typically be shared with the employee prior to their return to manage their emotional state and ensure they are not caught off guard. • Create Social Opportunities: Returning employees should be provided the opportunity to reconnect with their colleagues and engage with them in a casual social environment. This will ensure ease during the employee’s transition back into the office and provide them with support and reassurance.

WHAT TO FOCUS ON DURING THE REBOARDING PROCESS:

Returning to the workplace after parental leave can be daunting for an employee, but by ensuring that a structure is in place to effectively manage their return, the process will become much smoother. Ultimately, practices should consider: • How have the employee’s priorities changed? • Which projects have been completed and which have been started since the employee left? • Has the company’s objectives or priorities changed? • What changes and upgrades have occurred during the employee’s time off?

For more information on parental leave and reboarding please call the ADA HR Advisory Service on 1300 232 462.