I'm from the UK and have moved to Australia when my baby was 4-months old. I'm currently on maternity leave from my job in the UK and am obviously not planning on going back!
I've seen some stuff on the news here about the possible introduction of maternity leave and am I right in thinking that there is no legal entitlement to paid maternity leave in Australia, at all?!
In the UK we currently have a right to 9 months paid (first 6 weeks at 90% of salary and then a statutory maternity rate after that) and an additional 3 months of unpaid leave. You can go on leave at any point from the 15th week before your expected week of confinement and your company can not stop you from doing so or try to force you to stay until later. Also, they have to keep paying you even if you do not intend to return at the end of the leave, or even if you leave the country, and they have to give you a similar job back with the same pay if you do return.
In other EU countries, people even have as much as 12 months or more paid leave and they're bringing this slowly into the UK too.
I'm worried that if I do eventually go back to work (hoping never, but you never know with this credit crunch malarky), and have my next baby, that I will not be able to afford to take time off to spend with them.
It is correct that there is no right to paid mat leave in Aust. It makes it very difficult for working couples to have one of them stay home for very long after a bub is born.
Some companies do have paid mat leave but they are in the minority. Government jobs have the best paid mat leave so perhaps you could get a govt job if you do have to work again.
I got 6 weeks paid leave & had to cash in my long service leave and all my accrued holidays to fund my 8 months off. The baby bonus also played a part in me being able to afford to stay off this long. My company has now introduced 12 weeks paid mat leave.
Because I've worked for the same company for many years I don't have to pay it back if I choose not to return to work. If I'd only worked there a short time I'd have to pay it all back - the longer you've worked for them the less you have to pay back if you don't return. Not exactly a great situation for some people, but no concern to me.
You're right, Australia does not have a government-sponsored paid maternity leave policy, yet. They are looking at changing that.
When I started my new job (Feb this year) I looked carefully for a company that was family friendly and had a good mat leave policy in place as I knew I'd be starting a family soon. The company I have ended up with has no waiting period in place for mat leave eligibility (some places have a 12 month eligibility period), they offer 12 weeks mat leave at full pay that you can take at half pay for 24 weeks, then you can extend up to 2 years unpaid.
They are also extremely open to flexible returning to work - part time, working from home, etc.
I'd recommend looking for somewhere to work that is family-friendly, like I did. That's the best option while we wait to see if the government-funded scheme is put into place.
Good luck and welcome to Australia. I promise it is a great place to live!!!
There is currently no legislated right to paid maternity leave in Australia although some companies do offer it (these are generally larger corporate and government organisations).
In my last role I had 14 weeks paid maternity leave after 2 years service however in my current role I have none. It makes a huge difference! Hopefully the government will find a way to introdcue a paid maternity leave scheme but in the current economic climate I wouldn't be holding my breath.
Unfortunately the previous posts are correct... I don't get paid maternity leave - which is why I'm back at work now - because we just can't do without my pay - even though now half of it gets eaten up by day care fees.
Government jobs are pretty hard to get into as well..
I don't understand why any country could not work to support families with ensuring mums (or dads!) got to spend as much time with their new bubs as poss. I'm pretty surprised that this is not the case here.
What happens if you adopt a baby or child? Do you get leave to spend time with them? In the UK you get adoption leave, which lasts the same as maternity leave, but either mummy or daddy can take it.
Australian Maternity Leave Rights
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks