Employment (incl. Paid Parental Leave)

We support the extension of leave to the self employed. However, we have a more fundamental problem with the underlying legislation...

In our various submissions we have already set out the potential benefits to fathers, mothers and children of giving fathers equal rights in this decision making process, so it is worth trying to assess why the government remains determined to exclude fathers from such decision making. In our previous submissions we have also set out models of other countries where fathers have rights to take paid parental leave... (February, 2006)

We support this bill that aims to give employees with young and dependent children the statutory right to request part-time and flexible hours. ...However, we would like to see the age of youngest child extended to 14... We would also like a greater acknowledgement of the ‘double burden’ that fathers face in juggling paid and unpaid work...

While we are supportive of this bill given that it will potentially provide fathers with more opportunity to request hours of paid work that allow them to spend more time with their children, other legislation does not support the full involvement by fathers in the raising of their children... (July 2005)

We suggest that the current legislation is amended to allow parents in heterosexual couples to themselves choose which parent will take the leave, rather than the government determining who has primary and secondary rights.

However, if the government is unwilling to redress this imbalance then at least for those couples where the mother is not eligible for job protection but the father is eligible for job protection, the father should have his own independent right to take a period of paid leave supported by legislation. (June 2004)

Click below for:

1. The Father and Child Society's 2004 submission to the select committee considering amending the paid leave legislation. (PDF, 165k)
2. The covering letter to the Office of Human Rights Proceedings about the complaint. (PDF, 19k)
3. The final letter back from them turning us down for the funding to allow the case to proceed. (PDF, 125k).

Discrimination against fathers in heterosexual relationships (February 2003)

The proposed legislation is a giant step backwards for gender equity (February 2002)

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