Supporting Good Practice in Managing Employee Relations Essay

One external factor which may affect a business’s decision to recruit may be to assist the economic growth as the economy has currently come out of recession. This may affect a business decision to recruit as they may require more staff as the demand for products and services may be more as people now have more disposable income which allows them to purchase products and services. Another external factor which may affect a business’s to recruit may be the change in demographics, this is because there is an increase of people who require part time work as there is an increasing number of single parent families. There is also an ageing population, this means that there is a large amount of people who are now retiring therefore business require new staff to replace the ones have

Becoming a parent is beautiful yet stressful time in many people's lives. Emotions of joy and worry fill the mind of expecting parents as they work to provide a loving and financially stable home for their family. Both parents wish to actively support their child and their spouse during this time of transition, however, corporations are making this task difficult. Maternity leave is a benefit that most companies provide, but only for their female employees. Male employees are not given the same opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with their wife or to develop a bond early on with their child. Providing fathers maternity leave would give them time to dedicate themselves to the growth of their child, allow the mother to heal from giving birth, and promote equality within the family unit and in the workplace.

The Expand Maternity and Paternity Leave Act (EMPLA) is a law that provides certain parents with up to fifteen weeks of paid, job-protected leave. The parents or single parent can start their maternity leave seven weeks before their due date and eight weeks after, around 75% of their normal pay. They can extend the leave for another two weeks if the child gets sick or has special needs. The fifteen weeks of paid leave annually for parents or single parent of newborn or newly adopted children. To be eligible for EMPLA, you must meet United States residence requirements, worked at least a year before their birth or adoption of their child, etc.

When I was pregnant with my first child I wanted to stay home with her as long as I could after I delivered. I was told by my employer that I could only be off six weeks then had to return to work. I looked up the Ohio Family Leave Act that stated I was entitled to take twelve weeks after the birth of a child and that my job was protected (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.).

Pregnancy and Maternity Leave must be handled very professionally by organizations to avoid legal ramifications. The case of Claire Keenan v Stephen Kehoe t/a Mortgage Cabin and Ms Olga Seniv v Tamem Michel Bridal Ltd. are examples of organizations mishandling the protections women are under. Employers have an obligation to adhere to the laws related to protective leave, and if in by circumstance, they must dismiss an employee under protective leave, they must prove that the ultimate dismissal is in no way related to the employees

For all working parents, paid parental leave is an important component to incorporate to balance the workplace and sharing a family. However most parents who undergo leave are only paid a maximum grand total of either six weeks (for vaginal delivery) or eights (for a c-section) which come from Short Term Disability funds collected by employee payroll deductions. This is not enough time for parents to recuperate properly enough to return to their jobs. In 1993, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitled all eligible employees to take unpaid job-protected leave to medical reasons by providing 12 weeks worth of job protection. But the FMLA still does not provide enough compensation, and there are also firm restrictions enforced that exclude approximately 40% of the American workforce.

The family medical leave act has made advancements over the last few decades towards leave becoming equalized between mothers and fathers alike. Their most recent Act of 1993 requires companies with more than fifty employees to provide twelve weeks of unpaid leave for new parents. However, many fathers are still strongly discouraged in taking such leave for various reasons to include financial strain. According to an article by O’Brien (2007), Fathers have to use the Family Medical Leave Act to take off work for the birth of a child of theirs in the United States of America, unless they choose to take vacation time to be there during the birth of their child. Legislation still fails to support working fathers

|maternity, paternity and adoption leave. Protection against unfair dismissal, right to request flexible working. |

This allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of un-paid leave. It helps balance work and family life without the fear of losing their jobs and benefits. The leave is easy to get if you are a full-time employee of a company that has more than 50 employees, has 20 or more work weeks, and you live within 75 miles of your job. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee that has taken leave, but Federal law requires at least 30 days’ notice to the employer. If your work doesn’t offer paid paternity leave this is one option you have. Another is to use up any vacation and/or PTO.

In 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act was created. This act requires employers to employees to leave up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in the 12 month period for certain medical reasons. So far the United States was the only industrialized country that did not guarantee a job protection. Many fathers do not want to take off work because they won’t get the amount they are gone paid. Most parents just want to have the baby and start working again to have the bills paid.

Paternal leave has been a long standing matter especially in regards to women. “…women were usually regarded as temporary workers…” and as such, have historically dealt with sex discrimination in regards to maternity leave often “…given a choice between resignation or dismissal when they became pregnant” (“Evolution Of Legislation” 3). Not until the World War II era did maternity leave get introduced that would allow pregnant employees to return but “Reinstatement was often at a lower level, with lower pay, or with loss of seniority and accrued pension benefits” (“Evolution Of Legislation” 3). As society has grown, many countries have begun implemented different policies and procedures with regards to paternity leave. In regards to paternity leave in the United States, benefits prove to be far from adequate when compared with other developed countries in terms of length of leave and

This includes the National Employment Standards that covers hours of work, unpaid parental leave, 10 days paid personal/carer's leave, notice of termination and redundancy, long service leave, flexible working arrangements, 4 weeks paid annual leave, community service leave and public holidays.

For example, an employee may require time off work to care for a close relative in the final stages of a terminal illness.

The flexible working arrangements (FWA) on the ERA, had some changes to it. Previously there were some rules. These were, employees could only apply for these flexible working arrangements if they’ve been employed at that certain organisation for 6 months, and these employees had to have “caring responsibilities” (Employment Relations Amendment Bill, 2014). The change saw the removal of the 6-month rule (Employment Relations Amendment

To regulate the employment of women in certain establishment for certain period before and after child-birth and to provide for maternity benefit and certain other benefits. To provide healthy maintenance of pregnant women employee and her child