Study illustrates importance of legislated paid parental leave

Lamp, The, June, 2009

A study at the University of Sydney has found that fewer than a quarter of enterprise agreements include arrangements for paid maternity leave, and fewer again for paid paternity leave.

The study surveyed 1865 registered agreements and found that two of the industries with the highest number of female employees--hospitality and retail --had the smallest number of agreements with parental leave provisions.

'We cannot rely on enterprise bargaining to deliver maternity leave benefits to most women. What this underlines is the need for a universal system so that new parents are not forced into an early return to work and can properly take the time to be with their newborn child,' said one of the authors of the study, Associate Professor Marian Baird.

The report's findings illustrate the importance of the Rudd Government's announcement of 18 weeks paid parental leave, which is to begin in 2011. The Government's pa rental leave scheme is in line with recommendations made by the Productivity Commission last year. The full University of Sydney study is to be published in the Australian Bulletin of Labor.