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Get the Facts - Know your rights

Get the Facts kit

Indigenous Women and Pregnancy Discrimination

FACT SHEET 9: Returning to Work

When you return to work after parental leave, you have the right to return to the same job you had before you went on leave. If you changed your job during your pregnancy for a reason related to your health and safety during pregnancy, you have the right to return to your original job. It is against the law for your employer to refuse to let you return to your job.

If there has been a change in your workplace during the time you were away and your job no longer exists, you have the right to be given another job that is as close as possible in pay and status to the one you held before.

Many women find that when they return to work with a new baby they like to work part time or reduce their hours. Any reduction in hours has to be something that you decide. It is against the law for your employer to force you to reduce your hours when you return to work.

Example: Maria returned to work in a medical
centre after taking maternity leave with her
second baby. When she came back her employer
told her that he had decided that she should work
only 10am till 3pm each day instead of full time
because she would need to spend time with
her baby. Making this decision without
Maria's agreement could amount to unlawful
discrimination.

Working Part Time
Some awards and agreements have special arrangements for part time work but mostly it is something decided between you and your employer. Some awards provide the right for employees to request part time work on their return to work from parental leave and before their children are at school. Under these awards, your employer has a duty not to unreasonably refuse such a request.

If there is nothing in your award or agreement, you should discuss what you would like to do with your
employer and write it down if you agree. In some States and Territories this can be done through making a formal part time work agreement, but writing a letter that you and your employer both sign usually works just as well.

If you agree to return to work under different arrangements from those you worked previously, make
sure that you write down

It is important to write down and keep a copy of part time work arrangements, because often women find that they are in disagreement with their employer about whether they are a full time or part time worker, and the employer may refuse to let you return to full time work later on. This might not seem important when you have a little baby, but when your child is older women often want and need to return to full time work.

It may be discriminatory for you to be unreasonably refused access to part time work if you need part time work to care for your children or other family members. If you are refused part time work when you return from maternity leave you should consider getting some advice from a union, legal service or anti-discrimination agency like HREOC.

Other flexible work arrangements
There are other ways you might like to change your work arrangements when you come back to work after having a baby. These are called flexible work practices and include such things as jobsharing, working from home, flexible start and finish times, flexible rosters, taking your baby to work or variable working hours arrangements.

Like part time work, it is very important with flexible work arrangements to come to an agreement with your employer and write down what the arrangement is, how long it will last for, and when (or if) you will go back to your normal job.

Childcare
Depending on where you live, childcare can be expensive and hard to get. It can be much easier if you
live in a community close to family who can help out, but that isn't possible for everyone. It is important to think about childcare while you are pregnant to make sure that you can access childcare when you return to work.

Without childcare, it will make it very hard for you to return to work, unless you have family or other support. Sometimes you might be able to work from home or take your baby to work, but just remember that this is unlikely to work for very long because you will probably find it hard to do your paid work and look after your baby at the same time.

If you need childcare at a childcare centre or family day care (which is where someone will look after your baby in their own home) you should contact the Australian Department of Family and Community Services Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305 who will be able to give you details of the childcare and family day care available in your area.

Family responsibilities
Anti-discrimination laws make it unlawful for you to be sacked because you have responsibilities to care for your children or another close family member. This means that you cannot lose your job if you have to take time off work to look after your children or a sick, elderly or disabled family member. Some cases that have gone to court in recent years have also found that being sacked because you can only work part time while you are caring for family members is against the law. If you have been sacked or forced to leave your employment for this reason you should seek help as quickly as possible and may be able to have your employment reinstated or be compensated for losing
your job.

Example: Liz works in a hotel bar. A few months
after she returned to work after having her second
baby, Liz's father became very ill with lung
cancer. She approached her boss about having
some time off work to take her dad to the hospital
for treatment and to help look after him while he
was sick. Her employer said she had already had
too much time off work, that his business couldn't
manage without reliable employees and he
couldn't keep her on any longer. This is likely to
be unlawful discrimination.