Employer checklist for parental leave

This checklist is a guide for employers to use to ensure they have completed the steps in approving, extending or refusing parental leave. It is recommended that employers make this checklist available to employees to use when the situation arises.

For more information about parental leave visit www.fairwork.gov.au/leave.

Have you provided your employee with the ‘Parental leave – employee checklist’ and all of the relevant forms?

Other available templates and forms include:

– Notification form

– Application to vary leave within 12 months

– Request to extend leave beyond initial 12 months

Visit www.fairwork.gov.au/resources to access all of our parental leave templates.

Before an employee takes a period of standard parental leave

Has your employee provided notice of taking unpaid parental leave?

Has your employee provided you with confirmation of intended start and end dates for his or her leave?

Has your employee provided you with a medical certificate or verification of the dates (only required if you request evidence)?

Have you and your employee discussed the arrangements for payment of monetary entitlements that they may be entitled to? These could include any annual leave, long service leave, employer-funded paid parental leave or the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave scheme to which they may be entitled to or eligible to receive.

Varying a period of parental leave (within the first 12 months)

Has your employee provided you with written notification or request (when applicable) to vary the period of leave?

The employee can do this by completing the Parental leave – application to vary/extend leave within the initial 12 months form

Have you provided a response in writing?

Extending parental leave beyond the 12 month entitlement

Has your employee provided you with a written request to extend their period of parental leave?

The employee can do this by completing the Parental leave – request to extend leave beyond initial 12 months form

Have you provided a response in writing stating whether the request will be granted or refused?

If you are refusing the request:

Does the response clearly outline the reason for the refusal?

Have you taken the time to discuss the possibility of alternative arrangements with your employee?

For more information on flexibility arrangements, please see the Best Practice Guide: Use of individual flexibility arrangements.

Australian Government Paid Parental Leave scheme

Has your employee advised you whether they will be applying for Parental Leave Pay under the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave scheme? If so, you may wish to pre-register with Centrelink to make sure that all arrangements for the payment of Parental Leave Pay are made before the employee has elected for their payments to commence.

Have you advised Centrelink of any changes to your employee’s period of parental leave which may affect his or her ongoing entitlement to Parental Leave Pay?

Have you advised Centrelink of any changes which may affect the payment of Parental Leave Pay to your employee? This could include changes to your bank account details or payroll arrangements, changes to the period of the employee’s parental leave or a decision by your business to cease trading.

You can find out more information about the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave scheme, and your obligations as an employer, by visiting the Family Assistance Office’s website at www.familyassist.gov.au

Record keeping

Have you recorded your employee’s leave dates?

Have you kept a copy of any requests to vary or extend the period of parental leave, and your response to your employee?

If your employee’s period of parental leave has changed – have you recorded the new dates of your employee’s leave?

29/06/2012

Super Deduction for the 2012 Year

08/05/2012

Employee vs Contractor

Aside | 30/04/2012