Australia to give new dads two weeks paid leave
Way to go, Australia! Boy, wouldn’t I love to have this here!
Sunday was Father’s Day in Australia (and New Zealand) and dads-to-be got a present from the federal government — or rather, the promise of one. Starting In January 2013 they will be entitled to two weeks paid paternity leave on the minimum wage, currently $590 a week before tax.
Already about 75 per cent of fathers take leave after the birth of a baby, but the time is short and they often have to dip into annual leave. The government’s Productivity Commission has argued that paid leave would reduce pressure on families and send a strong signal that taking time out of the paid workforce to care for children was part of the usual course of life.
The government wants to maximise the time dads take off during “the crucial early months” by legislating to prevent its paid leave entitlement being taken at the same time as employer-funded leave”. And dad cannot transfer his leave to mum.
The scheme has already been delayed while the government scratched around for ways to fund it. Let’s hope that the Aussie economy holds up long enough to see the scheme actually launched.
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It’s ironic how America claims to promote family values, yet falls abysmally behind other industrialized nations in regards to paternity and maternity leave. If we really wanted to send a message that families and having children are important, we’d be all about making something like this law.
I work for a company that provides four weeks of paid time off to new dads. It’s a progressive company so of course, the catch is that the benefit covers adoptive (including, gasp, gay) dads too so I’m sure you wouldn’t advocate for such policies. It’d be great (for you) if employers were progressive enough to offer paid paternity leave but not so progressive that they were above discriminating against gay employees. That’d be the best of both worlds, wouldn’t it?
Australia did the right thing in doing this. This should be for man/woman marriages only. No other relationships will qualify for this special benegit.
@John Noe
Yes, god forbid single people try to raise a child.