Great family-friendly policies are gender neutral and help encourage people to share the care and the load at home. 

In early 2024, UNICEF Australia spoke with a number of employees who work for a certified Family Inclusive Workplace, to highlight how they have accessed and used flexibility and family friendly policies to support the person they are both in and outside of work. 

Below, we’ve pulled from these interviews how four fathers have accessed such policies including grandparents leave, a four day work week, a full stint of paid parental leave and more.  

The case studies are from employers including ING Australia, Investa, Medibank and the Department of Regional NSW, thanks to our partnership with Family Friendly Workplaces. 

Bonding with new child while taking a long stint of parental leave from ING Australia

Chris Chu took ING’s full paid parental leave offering of 14 weeks, including superannuation (recently adjusted to 20 weeks in March 2024), after the birth of his first child Rafael in late 2022. 

ING has been an accredited Family Friendly Workplace since 2021 with all employees, regardless of gender, encouraged to take parental leave, carer’s leave and to work flexibly under the insurer’s FlexING approach. 

This meant that Chris had already seen other employers, including senior leaders, benefitting from taking this leave and so he knew he’d be supported in doing so. 

Having the paid parental leave option allowed him to initially spend time with his new baby and support his partner. 

“There was something special about us both having time off together with him. It is a real benefit and a bonus,” he said. 

He later took his remaining paid parental leave and unpaid parental leave as a block to look after Raffy as his partner returned to work, which also helped the family to save on childcare costs. More importantly, Chris says this block of leave made him feel more confident as a father, and strengthened his bond with his child. He says it’s a time he’ll now cherish forever. 

Chris says he also felt support from ING to include him as part of the team while he was on parental leave, with the choice to attend team strategy days and key events when possible. 

On being with an employer where he is encouraged to “share the care”, he says it makes him feel positive about where he works. 

“They are doing it because it is what’s right, going above and beyond and raising the bar with benefits for everyone. Inclusion is at the core of what ING does, and it is not just for parents.”

Melanie Evans, CEO of ING says being a family-friendly employer creates an environment where parents feel understood and encouraged to find the right balance between work and home, leading to better work and life outcomes.

“We think our approach is the right one for any modern workplace wanting to encourage happier, healthier and higher performing people – both at work and in their personal lives,” she says. 

Taking grandparents leave at Investa

Raymond Ruddock is proud new grandparent who has benefit from taking grandparents leave from his role at Investa. 

The financial services firm offers five days of paid leave to any employee whose child or stepchild (or their partner) gives birth to or adopts a child. 

The leave can be taken flexibly within two months of the birth or adoption, with employees also given the option to take up 12 months of unpaid grandparents leave within the first two years.

For Ray, the leave came as a huge benefit when his eldest daughter unexpectedly went into labour weeks before her baby’s due date, and while her husband was away for work. Ray was able to take the leave on short notice, and support his daughter.

“It would have been very difficult if I didn’t get the two days off – I would have taken it as annual leave,” he said. “I can now save my annual leave for a proper holiday. There is nothing worse than having to use your leave when you are not resting.”

Peter Menegazzo, CEO of Investa, says that family plays an important role in the health and wellbeing of employees. 

“Positioning its culture to be supportive, inclusive and forward-thinking allows an organisation to realise the benefits that come from a diverse workforce at all levels. Organisations with supportive and inclusive policies and practices will, without doubt, attract and retain strong talent,” he said.

“Households are increasingly becoming dual income; meaning that families are often juggling parental responsibilities and/or carer responsibilities for aging family members and the like, whilst also managing their work commitments and priorities. For workplaces to remain competitive and progressive, employees must be holistically supported.

A new father on a four-day work trial at Medibank

In 2023, Jonathon Bell became one of 250 Medibank employees selected to take part in a four-day work week trial over six months. 

With a second child on the way for Jono, the added flexibility has enabled him to spend more time with wife and two-year-old daughter, while maintaining his previous work output.

“We are much more involved because we can go along to the playground, swimming lessons, and those important moments, not just communicating through a text message or a phone call,” Jono said on the change. 

“I have seen a shift with Prim asking, ‘Dad, are you working today, or do you have the day off today?’ and I can say ‘Yes, we can do something together,’ which is really nice.”

Jono says the four day work week will help further support the family once the second baby arrives.

“Having more time and choice in our lives is massive, especially as we adjust to having a new baby,” he says.

Jono’s entire team is part of the trial, which MediBank says has already seen a big shift in the way they work, with adjustments made to be more efficient by removing low-value work and limiting the number and length of meetings held, as well as other time-based savings measures. 

Medibank is currently pursuing a number of family-friendly policies in addition to the four-day week trial, including hybrid working, and removing the wait time for new employees to access their 14 weeks of paid parental leave that includes superannuation and is granted to all employees regardless of gender.

Taking up flexibility to change the family dynamic while working with the Department of Regional NSW

Luc is the Principal Policy Officer, Local Land Services

Living in regional NSW, Luc Farago works flexibly with the Department of Regional NSW to help care for his three children aged 11 to 17, including his youngest, Evie, who has cerebral palsy. 

While his wife was the family’s primary caregiver and usually took Evie to her medical appointments for many years, the flexible work options offered by Luc’s employer to people with disabilities and carers meant that Luc could take on more of this load as his partner returned to part-time work. 

The Department of Regional NSW offers employees flex time (i.e. flexible start and finish times), the option to purchase extra annual leave, part-time work, job sharing, remote working, leave without pay and study leave. 

Before the pandemic and these changes, all staff were required to work between 10am and 3pm unless they had organised leave. This meant Luc previously struggled with meeting the demands of his job while also balancing his family’s needs. 

Luc says having access to flex time and carers’ leave has made a significant difference to the quality of his work and family life.

“With no assistance available locally and a high work demand at times, I regularly utilise the Department’s agile working environment to strike the balance between work and family. Without these arrangements in place, I’d have to make a choice between work and family,” he says.

Now in its third year of being certified as family-friendly, the Department has seen improved staff retention as a result of its agile working approach. 

Luc says having managers understanding and being supportive of their staff is key to successful flexible work arrangements.

“The support around carers is just as important as the focus on carers – together, we strengthen each other,” Luc says. 

Steve Orr, Secretary, Department of Regional NSW, says that: “Being a family inclusive workplace empowers our team to balance their family and work life and bring their authentic and best selves to work, without having to compromise either their professional or family life.”

Employers can learn more about being a family-inclusive certified employer here.