Deloitte once more named Australia's top workplace for dads
Big Four professional services firm Deloitte has been recognised by Direct Advice for Dads as the best workplace for new fathers. The firm has secured it’s status as a leading employer for dads in Australia for the second year in a row.
One of the silver linings of the Covid-19 crisis has been the massive boost to flexible working, which has seen many more fathers spending time with their children. As the lockdown months lead to more and more people challenging long-held gender stereotypes that still exist in Australian society and the workplace, Direct Advice For Dads has published the ‘20 Best Australian Workplaces for New Dads’ list for the third year running to encourage more companies to offer parental leave policies for dads.
For the second consecutive year, professional services giant Deloitte topped the list. The first time followed a review of its parental leave policies in March 2019, when the firm lifted the bar on parental leave with the introduction of a comprehensive new policy that leads the way in creating a shared, flexible and family-friendly solution for its people in raising their children. Since then, Deloitte has seen a 20% increase in the utilisation of the policy by its male workforce, with 40% of Deloitte dads now accessing the policy.
Deloitte CEO, Richard Deutsch, said the firm was committed to gender equality and providing equal access to parental leave for all types of families, adding, “I’m extremely proud of our parental leave policy and the impact it’s making, not just in supporting all Deloitte parents, but also as a conversation starter to challenge the long-held gender stereotypes that still exist in Australian society and the workplace, and to drive greater equality for everyone.”
On the recognition, he said: “It’s fantastic to see the increase in the amount of families who feel empowered to take parental leave to care for and support their families at such an important time in their lives.”
Case Study
The new policy is inclusive of all types of families including birth, adoptive, surrogate, foster and same-sex parents. Deloitte removed maternity, paternity, primary or secondary carer labels, instead simply calling it ‘parental leave’, offering all new parents employed at the firm 18 weeks paid leave, including superannuation; and the option to take leave over the first 36 months after the arrival of a child, in three flexible ways, including on a part-time weekly basis.
Staff are also entitled to continuing superannuation contributions while taking unpaid parental leave; and the option to take parental leave at the same time as their partner
One ‘Deloitte Dad’ to have taken advantage of the new regime is Kurt Ferreira, who works as a Director in the Public Advisory team within Deloitte’s Financial Advisory practice. Having been at Deloitte for twelveyears, Ferreira made the most of Deloitte’s parental leave policy following a difficult pregnancy for his wife.
“Pregnancy can be tough at the best of times, but a twin pregnancy certainly adds a little extra to the experience,” Ferreira explained. “Due to my wife’s complex pregnancy, I required flexibility in my schedule during the lead up to the twins’ birth. I worked unusual hours in consultation with my coach and engagement teams and was able to access personal leave where appropriate to assist my wife.”
“Since the twins arrived, I’ve utilised a very flexible arrangement for taking my parental leave where I worked three days and had two days off. This allowed balance across our family in terms of furthering both my and my wife’s careers as well as balancing caring for our daughters.”
Ferreira, who is now “a proud dad of twin girls,” said he was keen to attest to the way that Deloitte Flex has been so accessible to him, in addition to the arrangement that is the Deloitte parental leave allowance. He added that he had valued “being a role model amongst my team for the way dads can play an active, caring role in their families.”
About Australia’s Best Workplaces for New Dads list
To qualify for consideration in the list, companies had to offer a minimum of two weeks paid secondary carer’s leave, 12 weeks paid primary carer’s leave, and flexible work practices to accommodate dads participating more fully in childcare responsibilities.
Working with research consultancy CoreData, the study analysed the largest 500 Australian companies by revenue to identify the workplaces that are leading the way with dad-friendly policies including parental leave, flexible work and other benefits.
