Expectant and New Parent Kit

(Including Useful Strategies For Managers)

The Expectant and New Parent Kit has been developed to assist and support you in balancing your work, life and family requirements. Additional information has been provided for managers who have a critical role in supporting and valuing staff who are considering or expecting a child or returning to work from maternity or parental leave. Pre-Natal Leave Policy Safe Pregnancy at Work Leave Entitlements Planning Tools Family Friendly Workplace Maintaining Communication and Contact During Parental Leave Returning to Work Considering Child Care Child Care Options Child Care and Quality Child Care Benefit Family Payments Salary Packaging Breastfeeding, Lactation Breaks and Parenting Facilities Staff Counselling and EAP Managing for Success: Useful Strategies for Managers Contacts

Pre-Natal Leave Policy

The Pre-Natal Leave Policy allows staff time off work to attend regular pre-natal visits to the doctor in preparation for the birth of a child.

Safe Pregnancy at Work

It is advisable to speak with your doctor prior to becoming pregnant, about the kind of work you do and your concerns. Information is available to those considering pregnancy, who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding.

• OHSE Information Sheet - Pregnancy and Work
• Procedure for Protection of the Unborn child from the effects of Ionising Radiation (pdf)
• Procedure for Protection of the Unborn child from the effects of chemicals (pdf)

Notification to your supervisor, safety officer, biosafety officer and radiation officer as soon as possible about your pregnancy is recommended, so that an assessment and appropriate modifications can be made to your work, to minimise any risks to your pregnancy.

Contact Occupational Health Advisors at Occupational Health Safety and Environment on 9905 1014 for confidential advice.

Leave Entitlements

Talking to an HR Advisor will assist with the clarification of any issues, or completion of relevant forms. Contact HR Inquiries on Tel 990 20400 for HR, maternity pay or leave related inquiries.

In general terms, maternity leave starts no earlier than six weeks before the due date and is for a total maximum period of 52 weeks.

Planning Tools

The following tools are designed to assist staff in planning and accessing parental leave and return to work from parental leave provisions.

• Maternity Leave Calculator
• Parental Leave Calendar

A staff member who is the primary care giver of a child shall be entitled to return to work from parental leave on the full-time or fractional basis that applied to them immediately prior to the commencement of parental leave.

Further information about return from Parental Leave Provisions is available in the Monash University Enterprise Agreement.

Family Friendly Workplace

Monash University has a number of policies and provisions aimed to support staff through pregnancy, parental leave, return to work, caring for children and other dependants. Some examples of these provisions include Home-Based Work, Job Share Policy and Flexible Working Hours.

Refer to the Work Life policies and Workplace Policies & Procedures for further information.

Maintaining Communication and Contact During Parental Leave

One way to avoid skill reduction and a sense of isolation that you may feel during periods of parental leave is for you and your manager to agree on maintaining contact. Some strategies to consider are:

1. ensure that you have been given the choice as to whether you want to be contacted during this time.
2. make sure that your email address is kept on the work unit's email network, so that you receive relevant work based information on line.
3. if you don’t have internet access at home, request access or regular hard copies of University publications, for example, newsletters and the Monash Memo.
4. request that information such as operational plans or any major procedural or structural changes proposed or taking place in the workplace are forwarded to you.
5. where possible choose to participate in training sessions that you would normally have been involved in had you been at work.
6. attend the work unit's social events, for example, farewells, birthday lunches and annual or Christmas parties.
7. If considering breastfeeding, discuss your requirements with your manager and contact Family & Child Care Services for information on parenting rooms.
8. when you do return to work, you may wish to establish a network of role models within the Monash community to share stories on a one-on-one basis or in a group forum.

Returning to Work

Consider options of returning to work on a part-time basis, job share, voluntarily reduced working year or flexible working hours. Consider these options with your family, colleagues, manager or staff at the Work Life Unit. You need to give at least six weeks notice of your request for flexibility.
Refer to the Monash University Enterprise Agreement for further information.

Considering Child Care

Family and Child Care Service provides a range of family and child care resources, services and University policies.

Child Care Options

• Long day care – centre based, private, local government and community owned, long operating hours (usually 8am – 6pm). Open during school holidays, and licensed to take newborn to school age children.
• Family Day care – a carer looks after four to five children in their own home. This is co-ordinated through local government.
• Home base day care – similar to family day care, but operating through private agencies.
• Nannies – either through an agency or employment service, it is important to check references or request a police check.
• University sponsored child care – Monash University sponsors six on campus child care services across four campuses, with salary packaging arrangements available.

If you are considering using Monash University sponsored child care centres, you are encouraged to place your name on the waiting list as soon as possible.

Child Care and Quality

When choosing accredited child care it is important to consider: Staff ratios and how staff and carers interact with children Is the setting welcoming, friendly and inviting? Are hygiene procedures in place? Is supervision appropriate? Are meals and snacks nutritious? Is there a daily activities plan? Are sleeping/resting arrangements adequate? Are pick up arrangements secure?

Child Care Benefit

Child Care Benefit (CCB) provided through the Commonwealth Family Assistance Office, is available to assist families with their work-related child care costs for dependant children. CCB covers the cost for long day care, family day care and out-of-school hours care for school aged children.

To be eligible to receive CCB funding for parents, child care services must participate in the Quality Improvement and Accreditation System. For further information concerning quality improvement, contact the National Child Care Accreditation Council.

Family Payments

The Australian Government offers a range of payments through the Family Assistance Office to support families. Each payment is different, depending on the needs of each family.

Salary Packaging

Fees payable for the use of child care services at the Monash related child care centres listed below are exempt from FBT and may be salary packaged. The eligible centres are:

• Monash Caulfield Child Care Association Inc Caulfield
• Monash Peninsula Child Care Inc Peninsula
• Monash Children's Centre Clayton
• Monash Community Family Co-Op Ltd Clayton
• Students with Children Child Care Centre (SWICH) Clayton
• Pooh Corner Child Care Centre Gippsland

The child care fees may be sacrificed from gross salary in equal fortnightly amounts and the cost allocated directly to the relevant child care centre out of the employee's pre-tax salary. Staff who request to salary package their child care fees should forward, with their salary packaging application, a statement from the child care centre of the fortnightly fees payable. Such fees will not attract GST.

It is important to note that there is no entitlement to child care benefits from the Family Assistance Office, at the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, where parents salary package their full child care fees.

If parents do not salary package their full child care fees, but only salary package part of the child care fees, child care benefits may be offset against the fee which is directly payable by the parents. The child care service will calculate the level of child care benefits to which the parents are entitled in these circumstances, using the parent's liability to pay fees (i.e. the amount that is not salary packaged) against the total number of hours that they use the child care service for the week.

Staff members are strongly recommended to seek financial advice in relation to child care benefits, fees and available child care benefits. Further information can also be obtained from the Family Assistance Office.

Breastfeeding, Lactation Breaks and Parenting Facilities

Monash University’s Breastfeeding policy supports those employees who continue to breastfeed on their return from maternity leave.

The University will provide reasonable flexibility for mothers to take paid lactation breaks during their work day and, where practicable, provide access to suitable parenting facilities to breastfeed and/or express and store breast milk. This may include facilities with a power point, lockable door, chair, nappy change area, hand-washing facilities, refrigerator and breast pump storage area.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association provides useful information about breastfeeding.

Staff Counselling and EAP

Managing for Success: Useful Strategies for Managers

• Ensure effective communication strategies are in place so that the staff member is informed of developments that may take place while they are absent.
• Ensure that agreement has been reached on the level and type of contact. Staff need to be given the choice as to whether they want to be contacted during this time.
• Encourage flexible working arrangements, including the choice of working days and hours and the option of working from home.
• Review and adjust working hours after a trial return to work period. Some staff are capable of increasing their return to work hours after a period of time.
• Adjust the staff member's workload in line with the relevant fraction.
• Foster a culture of acceptance and mutual support within the work unit to encourage and support those taking or returning to work from parental or maternity leave.
• Arrange regular work unit meetings to allow for useful information exchange. Remember that returning to work can be quite an isolating experience. Meetings should be re-scheduled wherever possible to take place when the staff member can attend.
• Ensure that staff fully understand the impact of their leave or fractional work on salary and entitlements.
• Develop strategies to overcome possible 'career stagnation' by re-visiting performance management and/or performance enhancement activities.
• Return to work positions should be well considered, well designed and communicated with staff.
• Regularly assess and fine-tune arrangements in line with agreed work unit key performance indicators.

Contacts