Grandparental Leave

It may seem meaningless now, in a time of high employment, but if we go into recession again, the opportunity to retain a good position will be valuable.

I don’t think long term acting opportunities are a bad thing either, to fill vacant positions.

Twelve months UNPAID leave? Meaningless. Agree it will clagg up the system with unfilled positions, with no one doing the work for a local government no one wants to work for anyway. The feds already offer better pay, and a whole heap of depts flexible conditions too – way better than what’s on offer with the ACT.

Would oldies really want to take a year off to mind tiny screeching kids? I can’t imagine that, at all. A year off as a sabbatical, now, that would appeal to a lot of people.

I think measures aimed at keeping older people in the workforce are a great idea, improve workforce participation.

weird. Clagging up places with vacant positions is just a bit silly. Dont think the pimp firms around town, will care. Mgrs and directors best start honing interview, facebook and google skills!

I think it’s fine in theory, but I can’t see many grandparents taking up the option.

I think Kevin Rudd was more on the money with suggesting 2 years of ‘parental leave’ so Mum and Dad can take one year off each.

You can ask for unpaid leave for any reason you like. But unless it’s covered by something like the Maternity Leave Act or a Certified Agreement, you’re not guaranteed of getting it.

This form of unpaid leave might allow older workers to just take a break from paid work when they want to spend time with their new grandchild, instead of retiring altogether.

It might also enable more parents to stay in the workforce after having kids. Childcare is expensive, hard to access, and some people would prefer grandparent care.

Mind you, Stanhope still needs a kick in the arse for making Canberra less pleasant to live in. He who planned to build an arboretum in a drought, commissioned a statue to a controversial politician, closed primary schools in suburbs where there’s a baby boom, and introduced pay parking at public hospitals.

you’d still have to ask for the leave though.

whats the point though. Anyone can take unpaid leave by just quitting their job or asking for Leave without pay currently. Does it really need a special name?
Comment by Jazz — 27 August, 2007 @ 2:04 pm

True – although I imagine that the difference is that you have to ask and receive permission to go on 12 months unpaid leave, where as this will be an entitlement that you don’t necessarily have to ask for??

crazy as a coconut