Introduction

The provision of parental leave and benefits in Australia is vastly different from the Canadian parental leave policy on many dimensions. This paper compares the Canadian 2011 Employment Insurance Maternity and Parental Benefits (EI) scheme to the parental leave provisions provided for in the Australian Fair Work Act 2009, in an attempt to assess the extent of major differences in the platforms and to extract any advantages and disadvantages of the systems. The provisions and use of unpaid parental leave vary due to eligibility criteria and segmentation of the workforce. Canadian maternity, paternity and parental leave is administered on the provincial level, creating differences in leave guarantees across provinces. A separate “federal jurisdiction” covers employees of companies working in inter-provincial or international commerce or for the federal government, regardless of their province of residence (Doucet, Lero & Tremblay, 2013). Since the ten provinces and three territories deliver the programme, they modify some details. These variations are minimal. In this analysis, we have taken the median amount of leave guaranteed by these 13 jurisdictions. At present, sections 67 to 85 of the Australian Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) set out the legislative provisions for parental leave. Australia provides three types of child-based leave: maternity, paternity and adoptive leave.

Substantive Differences in Parental Leave Provisions between Australia and Canada

(i) Duration of Leave

Australia guarantees new parents a total of 52 weeks of leave per childbirth. Also, parents can extend child-care leave for an additional 12 months after the initial period. Thus, the maximum amount of leave a family may take in relation to the birth or adoption of a new child is 104 weeks. On the other hand, Canada legislates parental leave on the provincial leave; the resulting guarantees vary widely, from 50 weeks in most provinces to 52 weeks in Quebec. In spite of this, each jurisdiction has a cap on the total amount of child-related leave; the medium cap is 52 weeks. According to Marshall (2003a) in all, a period of 52 weeks leave is manageable by employers and is less disadvantageous on women’s longer-term careers and income security. Evans (2007) similarly argues that long (over a year) parental leave continues to disadvantage the economic prospects of women who will bear the consequences of discontinuities in their job record and less accumulated work experience. Furthermore, research findings indicate that leave up to 52 weeks increases the likelihood of additional parental involvement in the second half of the child’s life when the foundations of behavioural outcomes are laid, thus anticipated improvement’s in longer-term behavioural outcomes can be expected (Marshall, 2003b; Baker & Milligan, 2008). In other words, a period of 52 weeks further enhances child health and behavioural outcomes and maternal wellbeing.

In both countries, once their leave has begun, they must take all of it continuously. In Australia, maternity leave can begin as early as 6 weeks before childbirth. By comparison, new mothers in Canada receive 18 weeks of maternity leave. Expectant mothers can begin maternity leave as early as 11-17 weeks before their due date.

One of the key advantages of the FWA is that, unlike Canada, in Australia expectant mothers may also take “special” maternity leave for pregnancy-related needs.

(ii) Qualifying Periods

To qualify for EI, employees must have worked at least 600 hours in the previous 52 weeks and paid premiums during that time. In the same way, family leave in Australia is available to all permanent (full- or part-time) employees after 12 months continuous service with the one employer by the expected dated of the birth of the child. Casual employees are also eligible provided they have been employed for a sequence of periods of employment during a period of at least 12 months and would have a reasonable expectation of continuing engagement. In this way, both countries policy takes into consideration the extremely high proportion of women participating in the workforce on a part-time or casual basis in the qualifying conditions for leave (Schwartz, 1988; Smith, 2011).
(iia.) Coverage of the Self-Employed

In Canada, until 2011, self-employed women were not eligible for benefits since they typically work under business or service contracts and therefore are not considered to have insurable employment. Despite this, in 2010, Bill C-56 extended El special benefits (maternity and parental leave benefits) to the self-employed on a voluntary ‘opt-in’ basis. In order to receive maternity benefits self-employed mothers must have registered one year previously (Pulkingham & Van der Gaag, 2004).

In Australia, however, it appears that self-employed workers neither contribute to nor collect from parental benefits. Self-employed parents will be at a disadvantage under the Fair Work Act 2009. Australia lacks legislated provision of unpaid maternity leave, unpaid paternity leave and unpaid adoptive leave for all workers.

(iv) Leave for Spouses on Birth of a Child

New parents in Australia may use 52 weeks each of unpaid family leave. For example, if you take 12 months parental leave then your partner may be eligible to take 12 months parental leave when your leave finishes. Generally, paternity leave can only be taken by one parent at a time. That is, parents may not take their leave simultaneously. Nevertheless, new parents may take 3 weeks leave concurrently (Industrial Relations, 2012). In Canada, however, leave for new fathers is much simpler. Parental leave may be taken by either parent or shared between the two (52 weeks respectively).

According to Marshall (2008), to enable fathers to efficiently participate in child rearing, a lengthier period of simultaneous paternity leave is necessary. On this matter, the FWA is at a disadvantage to Canada’s EI scheme. Concurrent leave would enable mothers and fathers to participate more equally in the nurturing of their child. A fathers’ participation is critical in the vulnerable early days after childbirth. Research has shown that a father’s involvement has a positive effect on co-parenting and partner relationships, personal development and the social, economic, physical and cognitive development of children (Berger & Belsky, 2006; McKay & Doucet, (2010).

In both Australia and Canada, entitlement to paternal leave extends beyond the biological father to persons who are either the partner of the mother or who acknowledge the child, thereby removing discrimination towards same sex de facto relationships (Fair Work Ombudsman, 2013).

(v) Statutory Leave Provisions for Adoption of a Child

Adoptive parents in Australia receive the same guarantees as birth parents. Theoretically, adoptive parents may use three types of leave: “pre-adoption” leave, “short” leave and “long” leave. Pre-adoption leave consists of two unpaid days for adoption-related meetings and interviews. Once the child is placed with the family, parents can take up to three weeks of short adoption leave concurrently and up to 52 weeks of long adoptive leave taken by either parent or divided between them. Adoption leave begins the day the child is placed with the family. Australia only extends to families parental leave provided that the adopted child is under 16 years old. Canadian adoption-leave policy underwent substantial reform in 2011 (Maternity leave and parental leave, 2011). Canadian law allows for 52 weeks of adoption leave. Adoption leave begins the day the child is placed with the family and must last at least 6 months. In Canada, either parent can take it, or it may be shared.

Both Australia and Canada permitting one parent to remain at home with the adopted child, acknowledges the need to facilitate the establishment of a relationship between them as well as to integrate the child into the new family.

(vi) Obligations of the Employer

Australian law states that for the first 12 months after a child’s birth or adoption, parents have the right to job-protected leave in order to care for the child at home. Throughout parental leave, a mother’s relationship with her employer remains unchanged. Her contract remains in force and she continues to accrue vacation time and seniority. When she returns to work after parental leave, the employer must allow her to resume her previous position or a comparable post. Finally, if an employee is pregnant and wishes to continue to work the six weeks before the birth of her child, the employer has the special responsibility to request a medical certificate of fitness for duty (Workers’ rights parental leave, 2011). Whereas, in Canada, women may continue with paid work until birth if they explicitly declare that it is their personal decision to do so. There are no obligations placed upon an employer. In Canada, employees are given the same opportunity to take parental leave with guaranteed job security. Employees returning from maternity or paternal leave must be reinstated in the same or a comparable position with earnings and other benefits at least equal to those received when the leave began.

Conclusion

In comparing Canada’s parental leave provisions with those of Australia, it is found that Australia provides a longer leave than Canada (104 weeks in total compared with 52 weeks in Canada). It appears that Canada made the 2011 Employment Insurance Maternity and Parental Benefits ensuring unpaid parental leave provisions met international standards and reflects world’s best practice. Firstly, in Canada and Australia, both mothers and fathers have a right to child care leave. Just as fathers can share leave at the time of the birth of a child, they can also share leave with the mother in cases of adoption. Secondly, in both countries, all of these periods of parental leave are employment-guaranteed: parents can be sure of returning to their old job or an equivalent position. Finally, Australia, unlike Canada, has allowed for a certain amount of leave taken by a female employee to recover from pregnancy related illness or a miscarriage or stillbirth within 28 weeks of the expected due date. It is apparent that Australia’s success with unpaid parental leave comes about as a direct consequence of the philosophy that women and their spouses should both be supported in the opportunity to manage work and family roles simultaneously. The FWA parental leave scheme demonstrates the Australian government’s ongoing commitment to supporting working families.