Labor has pledged to change the law to allow parents who lose their babies to access employer-paid parental leave, if it wins the federal election.
After a Sydney couple pleaded for “humane” rules, a re-elected Labor government would change the Fair Work Act 2009, Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said.
“The loss of any child is an absolute tragedy and finances are the last thing parents should have to deal with in a time of grief,” Watt said.
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“This change will address a clear gap in our laws and hopefully go some way to taking some stress away in an unbelievably difficult time.”
As reported by 9News, when Chris Breen and his wife lost their baby when she was just six weeks old, they needed time to grieve.
But while Breen, a teacher, was still able to take his planned three months of parental leave, his wife, who didn’t want her name published, was forced back to work.
That’s because her planned paid maternity leave was cancelled by her employer.
She did get government entitlements but Breen said when they contacted the Fair Work Ombudsman, they were told the company did nothing wrong.
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It was allowed to cancel her planned paid paternity leave.
The pair called what happened “horrific and inhumane”.
Chris’s wife said the Labor pledge was “bittersweet”, but she was “heartened” to hear about it.
“I wish that I was never treated that way by my employer in the first place,” she said.
“Priya’s dad and I are happy about the changes Labor intend to make.”
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher also backed the move.
“No grieving parent should be forced straight back into the office because of a legal loophole,” she said.
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The Ombudsman says if a baby is stillborn or dies in the first 24 months, an eligible employee is still entitled to take parental leave up of to 12 months – but unpaid.
The inner-west Sydney couple launched a petition, which has over 25,000 signatures.
