Workers in one Australian state are about to get an extra 10 days of leave from September 30, doubling the allowance available in any other state or territory.
Queensland public sector staff will get the extra leave for their reproductive health in a move first outlined in May but now expanded to include around 290,000 staff.
Premier Steven Miles said it is designed to ensure workers have enough time off to look after their fertility, with preventative health measures, screenings, IVF, hysterectomies and vasectomies among the treatments covered.
Conditions such as endometriosis, dysmenorrhea and severe menopause will also be included.
‘We make history again with the announcement that some of the best workplace entitlements in the nation will be extended to even more Queensland workers,’ Mr Miles said.
‘I always want Queensland’s incredible public sector to shine as an employer of choice and I hope to see other organisations follow our lead when it comes to backing the health and equity of workers.
‘This is both about improving pay equity for women in the workforce and supporting the health and wellbeing of the workers who make this state a better place.’
The extra 10 days will be added to government employees’ entitlements such as annual leave, sick leave and other types of time off.
Workers in one Australian state are about to get an extra 10 days of leave from September 30, doubling the allowance available in any other state or territory (stock image)
Queensland public sector staff will get the extra leave for their reproductive health in a move first outlined in May but now expanded to include around 290,000 staff (stock image)
It will not be cumulative, though, so any unused days cannot be rolled over into the following year.
Reproductive health leave already exists in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, where five days per year can be claimed.
South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia do not offer reproductive health leave to their public sector employees.
The Queensland government initiative is expected to cost about $90million a year.
Reproductive leave is not included in the National Employment Standards and is currently only available in a very limited number of private sector employers.
‘Too many workers have been penalised or forced to bow out of employment because of reproductive health issues,’ Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said.
‘Unions will campaign for a universal paid 10 days leave to enable all workers access to this important category of leave.
‘Working people have already campaigned, and won, this entitlement at some workplaces but we want to see this extended as a basic entitlement to all Australian workers.’
