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Work-life Balance Information Kit

This information kit is designed for Human Resources (HR) and Industrial Relations (IR) managers to assist with the successful implementation of work-life balance policies in public sector agencies. Managers employed in the private sector should refer to the Work-life Balance Information Kit for the Private Sector.

How to use this kit
What are work-life balance policies?
Why do we need to deal with work-life balance?
Work-life balance policies available in the Queensland public sector

 

How to use this kit?

This kit provides information applicable to all Queensland public sector agencies, although individual agencies may choose to customise the information to better suit their specific environments.

The content of the kit is categorised according to the three main target areas of intervention, as follows:

Interventions at the organisational level
This category outlines interventions to be undertaken by HR/IR managers to ensure conditions for effective implementation of policies are in place in the agency. Interventions at the organisational level would affect managers and staff and would require significant support from CEOs.

Interventions at the managerial level
This category outlines interventions to be undertaken by HR/IR managers that assist managers to effectively implement work-life balance policies.

Interventions at the employee level
 This category outlines interventions to be undertaken by HR/IR managers to inform employees about work-life balance policies and teach employees how to negotiate for such policies.

The resources section provides the guides, templates and information sheets that HR/IR managers can use for their own purposes and to assist managers and employees access policies more efficiently.

 

What are work-life balance policies?

Work-life balance policies can be described as policies that help employees meet the needs of both their work life and their personal life. They include a wide variety of policies including:

 

Why do we need to deal with work-life balance?

Attraction and Retention

The Queensland government is the largest employer in the state, employing over 187,972.75 (FTE) public service employees at June 2008. Since 2000, the service has grown on average by 3.16 per cent per year. If this current growth rate is sustained, the service will require an additional 62,670.85 full-time equivalent staff by 2018.

However, the ageing population will affect the labour supply for Australian employers, including the Queensland government. Approximately 32 per cent of the Queensland public service permanent workforce is currently aged 50 years and over and the average age of these employees is increasing. Almost half of those aged 50 years and over are in professional or managerial positions and 42 per cent of permanent employees who leave the service have more than 10 years service. This means that the Queensland public service risks losing extensive specialist knowledge and capacity.

Furthermore, the service’s retention of people embarking on their career (those under 25 years of age) and people likely to have significant family responsibilities (aged 25-39 years) is lower than the rest of the workforce. Since 2000, the proportion of permanent employees in the public service under the age of 30 has declined by approximately 3% (most of these are males), to comprise 14 per cent of the public service workforce.

In a recent survey by the Office of the Public Service Commissioner, all but one Queensland public sector agency reported competition with the private sector is contributing to the current staffing shortages. To remain competitive, employers need to offer more flexible conditions than their competitors.

Part of being an attractive, competitive employer involves the provision of work-life balance policies, which can help retain older workers, as well as attract parents who have been out of the workforce due to caring responsibilities and young workers who want to combine work and study and leisure or who are planning to have families in the short-term future.

Legislative obligations

There are three major pieces of legislation that provide Queensland public sector employees with rights to access work-life balance provisions.

Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 2.1 MB)
One of the stated objectives of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (the Act) is to help balance work and family life. The Act provides for a variety of leave entitlements that apply to all Queensland employees (excluding those covered by federal awards or agreements) which may help them balance their work, family and lifestyle commitments, including parental leave, carer’s leave, bereavement leave, and cultural leave. The Act also provides a framework to protect employees against unfair dismissal on discriminatory grounds, including family responsibilities.

Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (PDF, 821 KB)
The Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 prohibits discrimination on the basis of certain attributes including:

Employers need to be particularly careful not to breach anti-discrimination laws when dealing with employees with family responsibilities.

Terms of employment such as starting and finish times, the requirement to work full-time and attendance requirements are not directly discriminatory, but may be indirectly discriminatory.

Employers need to treat seriously requests for part-time work, flexible work hours, telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements. It is not enough to offer an employee their full-time position after returning from parental leave and let them go if they cannot work full-time. A requirement to work full-time must pass a test of reasonableness as outlined in section 29D of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 209 KB)

Family Leave Award ( Queensland Public Sector) - State 2004 (PDF, 821 KB)
The Family Leave Award (Queensland Public Sector) - State 2004 sets down the terms of a number of leave provisions, including parental leave, carer’s leave and bereavement leave. The Award also provides for part-time employment for pregnant employees and employees who are the parent of a child under the age of 2 years.

 

Work-life balance policies available in the Queensland public sector

There are a variety of work-life balance policies available for Queensland public sector employees. Some of these policies are available as entitlements (e.g. bereavement leave, unpaid maternity leave), others on a managerial discretionary basis (e.g. special leave, part-time employment, flexible work hours).

Below follows a list of policies that are available in the public sector. Your agency may have these or other policies available as part of your human resources policies.