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Grandparents’ kid-rearing leave in Australia

Sydney: Grandparents in Australia are now sought to be allowed to take a year of unpaid leave from their jobs when a new grandchild is born, under a new policy unveiled by the government.

This recognises the role of the extended family in caring for children and the fact that grandparents are contributing more to childcare, said the Minister for Workplace Relations, Joe Hockey.

The policy will mean all working grandparents would be entitled to a week off work without pay to help care for a newborn. Grandparents in companies with more than 100 staff members can take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave in the first year of a child’s life.

The policy, which will come into force if the government is re-elected on November 24, has had a mixed response. Peter Hendy, of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The best way to support balancing work and family life is encouraging open discussion and agreement between employers and employees, not adding new rules to our national legislation.”

Paul Versteege, of the Pensioners’ Association, said the offer was well-intentioned but unlikely to be taken up by many grandparents.

“Most people these days seem to aim for a retirement age of 55, which is sort of the typical age where you start to become a grandparent, I guess. But people who have to work beyond that age are not as well off, so they are very unlikely to take off a year [of] unpaid leave,” he said.

The Opposition Labour Party said the policy had been cobbled up in a bid to win votes. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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