Have your say: supporting working parents

First 5000 members are invited to have your say on the Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review.

An online questionnaire for employers is now online and will be open until January 2014.

Submissions can be made in a number of different ways:

• Individual submission
• Community Organisation submission
• Employer online questionnaire
• Employer, business and industry associations online questionnaire

In conducting the National Review, the Commission is consulting widely with relevant stakeholders, including women and men who have experienced discrimination at work while pregnant, or on return to work after taking parental leave, government, industry and business peaks, employers, and organisations working with affected women and men. Please click here for an Issues Paper that provides some background information for those individuals, organisations and businesses interested in contributing to the National Review.

Background
In conducting the National Review, the Commission is consulting widely with relevant stakeholders, including women and men who have experienced discrimination at work while pregnant, or on return to work after taking parental leave, government, industry and business peaks, employers, and organisations working with affected women and men. Please  for an Issues Paper that provides some background information for those individuals, organisations and businesses interested in contributing to the National Review.

On 22 June 2013, the Attorney-General’s Department asked the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, on behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission to conduct a national review on the prevalence, nature and consequences of discrimination in relation to pregnancy at work and return to work after parental leave.

The significant number of complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission and Fair Work Australia indicate that discrimination against pregnant employees and against men and women returning to work after taking parental leave continues to be a problem in Australian workplaces.

The National Review will involve collection of quantitative and qualitative data to assess the prevalence, nature and consequences of discrimination at work related to pregnancy and during, or on return to work after parental leave. It will also seek to understand the challenges faced by employers in accommodating the needs of pregnant employees and women and men returning to work after parental leave, as well as identify leading practices and strategies for addressing these challenges.

Invitation to participate in a group consultation
If you have been affected by discrimination in the workplace related to pregnancy, parental leave or return to work following parental leave, and you would like to share your story and experience workshops are being held across the country.

To register for a consultation, and for further details, please email pregnancyandwork@humanrights.gov.au.

The Commission will prepare a report on the national review, including recommendations, by June 2014.