Work & Family

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Further possibilities for flexibility

Bringing children to work

Where afternoon shift employees with children have difficulty making arrangements to collect children from child-care or school and for their supervision, management might consider whether more flexible arrangements enabling children to be brought to work for periods might be possible. It is likely that such arrangements will work best where the staff is drawn from the local area, and schools and child-care facilities are located close to the workplace.

Some options to help staff members balance family and work responsibilities at these times include allowing an employee to collect children from school and deliver them to after-school care, or to bring children to the facility.

Risk management considerations include any occupational health and safety hazards or additional relevant liability issues, ages of children and arrangements for their accommodation, supervision and entertainment, and the likely impact on residents or other staff members.

Where aged-care facilities plan activities to divert and entertain residents during the late afternoon 'sundowner' period, Roster Managers may find that some children may fit in well with the party or 'activities club' atmosphere generated to cover resident restlessness at this time. Some residents will not wish to be disturbed by the presence of children.

Consideration may also be given to setting aside an area for children such as an activities or sitting room not currently in use, and building a small collection of toys or books and children's equipment through staff donation or through the local toy library or public library system. Where such arrangements are made, they might also be used to accommodate children in other short term situations including after medical appointments, where the parent returns to complete the rest of the shift.

Where aged-care facilities have developed relationships with local schools or children's facilities which involve after-school visits from groups of children, it may be considered possible for employees' children to join in any activities in emergency situations when their regular care arrangements are not available.

Where an employee has a problem balancing their morning shift with a need to drop children at nearby schools or child-care centres, it may be considered possible for the children to be brought to work, and for the parent to take a short absence to deliver them to school or child-care, making up the time later or using banked hours to cover the absence.

Employees bringing children to work in any of these circumstances could provide any meals needed. Where meals are provided by the facility, consideration may need to be given to any relevant issues of fringe benefit tax.

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Providing child minding or a crèche at work

In order to attract or retain employees with young children, aged-care employers may consider the benefits of providing occasional child minding or crèche facilities, particularly in school holiday periods. It may be possible for a facility to attract child-carers on a casual basis through TAFE child care courses. As indicated above, consideration would need to be given to accommodation and other facilities, any government regulations and relevant issues of liability.

Where facilities are considering providing child-care or a crèche, advice on regulations and requirements should be obtained from the Office of Childcare, NSW Department of Community Services.

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Reserving places in local vacation care programs or occasional places at a neighbouring childcare centre

Many employees in aged-care have school-aged children and may have trouble arranging suitable care during school holidays. Employers might consider making a block-booking in a local vacation care program for employees' children without access to suitable care. If it is considered desirable to provide some assistance with costs in order to ensure availability of staffing over such periods, employers will need to consider any fringe benefit tax implications.

It may also be useful to consider the possibility of liaising with any nearby child-care facilities to reserve occasional places, to cover one-off breakdowns of an employee's usual care arrangements or to provide care where the employee is required to work an additional shift and has no care arrangements available.

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Working at home

While the nature of most work in residential aged-care precludes working at home arrangements possible in some other industries, nursing management might consider whether some of the additional paperwork required for Commonwealth accreditation and funding processes could be done at home if this would provide additional flexibility for the Registered Nurse responsible without breaching the legislative requirement for at least one RN to be on duty at all times.

While confidentiality and privacy concerns would prevent staff taking home information specifically about residents, policies and procedures in relation to quality improvement or infection control, minutes of meetings, drafts of form letters, or staff training plans can often be more effectively completed at home while supervising a sick child than in a busy workplace. If working at home for this purpose is considered possible, management and the RN may need to agree on the amount of work to be undertaken.

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Facilities for breastfeeding mothers to express milk

In circumstances where employees may still be breastfeeding a child, aged-care employers might consider providing assistance by setting aside a quiet private area and access to facilities such as refrigerator space to store expressed milk.

Offering casual relief work to employees on long-term unpaid leave

Some employees on unpaid maternity leave (or other forms of long-term unpaid leave) may be interested in working for short blocks of time if they are able to arrange alternate care. There is specific legislative provision in NSW for the interruption of unpaid parental leave in this way by mutual agreement between the employee and the employer ⁵. Where employees are interested in such an arrangement and can arrange periods of care, Roster Managers may be able to bring them in, usually on a casual basis, to fill gaps arising from annual leave. Arrangements like these may be useful in preparing an employee for return to work from maternity leave, and should assist in keeping staff in touch and bringing them up-to-date on any changes in work arrangements prior to their return to work.

Where employees on leave are brought in to work short blocks on a casual basis, Roster Managers will need to check to make sure that arrangements are consistent with any requirements of the relevant industrial award or agreement.