Natasha is a leading HR expert, entrepreneur, author and sought-after media commentator for outlets such as Sunrise (Channel 7), ABC Radio and The Australian Financial Review. Natasha co-founded Employee Matters in 2011 to help Australian businesses achieve success through their people.
Have you ever looked at the school calendar and realised the maths just doesn't add up? Working parents face a massive gap between their standard four weeks of annual leave and the 12 weeks of school holidays their kids get every year. This exact tension exploded into the public eye recently when Australian clothing brand DISSH introduced a viral new policy: an extra two weeks of paid annual leave exclusively for parents of children under 12.
To unpack whether this is a groundbreaking move towards workplace equality for both parents and employees without children, Natasha Hawker (Founder of Employee Matters) joined Jason Chong on SA Afternoons | 891 ABC Radio Adelaide.
Is extra parental leave a "godsend" for burnt-out mums and dads, or does it leave childless workers feeling left out in the cold? In this broadcast, HR expert Natasha Hawker and host Jason Chong dive deep into both sides of the coin:
The Parental Juggle: Standard workplace constructs were historically designed around a single breadwinner model, but today, both parents work in roughly three-quarters of two-parent households.
The Business Case for Leave: Hawker reveals that offering tailored benefits boosts a company’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP). By keeping staff happy, businesses lower their attrition rates—saving thousands, given that recruiting a new employee costs 50% to 150% of their base salary.
Is It Legal? Yes. As long as employers meet the mandatory legal minimum of four weeks of annual leave for full-time staff, they are legally allowed to offer additional targeted perks to specific groups.
The Equality vs. Fairness Debate: While advocates argue this brings equity to women whose careers stall due to childcare gaps, critics point out that employees dealing with chronic illnesses or ageing parents don't receive the same special treatment.
Ultimately, Hawker notes that the "juggle is real," burnout is rising, and if you are a valued employee, it might just be time to have a robust conversation with your boss.
What Do You Think?
Would you take a slight financial penalty if it meant getting an extra two weeks off to cover the school holidays? Or do you think all workplace perks should be strictly equal across the board?
Listen to the Full Interview
Click the button below to stream the entire segment.
Jason Chong: 9 minutes to one. Now, here's something you probably have an opinion on one way or the other. I'd love to hear about it. An Australian clothing company has begun offering new benefits for employees, including two weeks extra paid annual leave for parents of children under 12. For parents with young kids, that could be a godsend. Having to navigate endless sicknesses and appointments, dentists and podiatrists, school holidays, a 9 to 3 school day and a 9 to 5 workday, and all the other joys of parenthood. But is it fair on those with older kids or those who have chosen to have no kids at all? They would love an extra two weeks a year as well, I'm sure. But is it a punishment, or just that they'll see someone else getting something that they won't, and they'll be a little bit jelly? Let's have a chat about it with Natasha Hawker. She's the founder of Employee Matters. They are an HR and recruitment provider in Australia. Hi Natasha.
Natasha Hawker: Hello. How are you, Jason?
Jason Chong: Good. Thanks so much for joining us. Is there a debate here, or is the correct response, "That's good, good for them"?
Natasha Hawker: Look, I think if we think about it, most of the constructs or policies about a workplace were designed with male employees in mind. This has changed over time, but I question whether it's gone far enough. According to some stats from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, where two parents live together, in roughly three-quarters of these families both parents are employed. So that's a big proportion of your workplace or your business. Being a mum myself, although my last one is just about to finish high school, juggling 11 to 12 weeks of leave for a public school and 12 to 14 for a private is a challenge when you only get four weeks, and that's only if you're full-time.
Jason Chong: Even if you get four weeks each and you split that up, you still have another four weeks to go, don't you?
Natasha Hawker: Yeah.
Jason Chong: Let alone spending time with your beloved, I guess.
Natasha Hawker: That goes out the window for those of you.
Jason Chong: Okay, so I mean, it sounds like good news if you have kids in that age group. Why do some employers offer more than the legal bare minimum?
Natasha Hawker: I think offering an extra two weeks to parents of school children really helps them juggle the challenges of covering school holidays, and this challenge is even worse for single parents. Approximately 80% of single fathers are employed, and single mums are about 73%. What is clear from this article is: is there an outright bonus of additional leave—as in, you get the normal rate of pay plus that additional leave—or would their salary in comparison to non-parenting colleagues be less? Let me be honest, I think even if there was a financial penalty, many parents would choose to take that additional leave. A big challenge for parents, whether they live together or not, is that they need to use that leave separately to cover all of the school holidays. Then there's still a shortfall, meaning there are no joint holidays as a family, which is a sad outcome.
Jason Chong: It may not be a direct disadvantage if you don't have kids and you don't get this two weeks leave, but are there other workplace rifts and things to think about when implementing something like this?
Natasha Hawker: Look, I think the extra leave here is very much a strategic advantage to attract the best candidates in what I would suggest is a very tight applicant market, and it forms part of something we call your employee value proposition. In other words, what will make someone want to work for you and, even more importantly, stay working for you. Businesses that do this are likely to reduce their attrition rate. In other words, the number of unsolicited resignations, which is really wise because recruiting costs between 50% and 150% on top of a base salary every single time you go to the market. I think many business owners and managers don't realise how expensive it is, especially if you're no good at it.
Jason Chong: Are there any legal issues with offering things to some employees but not others?
Natasha Hawker: No. It forms part of your employee value proposition as long as you are meeting your minimum or mandatory legal requirements. For example, every organisation in Australia must offer four weeks annual leave for permanent full-time employees. Obviously, a byproduct of this is you could be attracting more parents to work for you. But say, for example, these employees are 25% more productive and efficient than someone who isn't brought on by this opportunity, and they stay with you long-term; those additional costs really pale in comparison. It's actually a really cost-effective way to hire.
Jason Chong: Yeah, and I guess no one knows how to multitask and get things done on a deadline better than people with kids under 12, I'd imagine.
Natasha Hawker: Exactly.
Jason Chong: Is this something that you'd like to see more companies support their employees with?
Natasha Hawker: Totally. My opinion here is personal, but as a mum of three kids that were only three years apart—no twins—this was part of the reason that I opted out of a corporate senior job and corporate life and started Employee Matters. I could see back then—and this is now some time ago, as my eldest is starting to leave school—that it wasn't viable or possible to manage the juggle and be a present parent. I think more companies should be doing this. But also, our government needs to do more to support childcare costs. There are so many women that actually want to work but literally cannot afford the childcare support and so opt out of the market. That's a waste because I think our country has a productivity problem, and this would be one way we could solve it.
Jason Chong: Would it be worthwhile for people who have young kids to go and ask their employer for two weeks annual leave, or is that fairly unlikely to be granted?
Natasha Hawker: Look, I always encourage everyone to have really open and robust conversations with your employer, because if you're a really good employee, they don't want to lose you. And if they realise they could give you two weeks extra leave a year and you're going to stay with them, they're going to take that option. The juggle is real. Plenty of parents out there are really struggling. We have an increase in burnout rates in this country, and an increase in mental health conditions in the workplace. This would go some way to trying to address that.
Jason Chong: There we go. A lot of people will be having an awkward conversation with their boss over the weekend, ready for Monday morning. Thanks so much for this chat, Natasha, it's been great.
Natasha Hawker: My pleasure, Jason. Have a great day.
Jason Chong: You too. Natasha Hawker there, founder of Employee Matters.
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