Australian Company Pays New Mums 150 per cent Salary If Their Partner Stays Home

In a bid to shift the social norm where mothers stay at home and care for their kids, while dads are the primary income earners, one Australian company has seen fit to smash the mould.

Queensland rail company Aurizon is offering to pay new mothers more money if their partner stays at home to take care of their child, while they return to work.

It’s decided to offer women 150 per cent of their salary if they return to work within the first year of their child’s life, while their partner stays at home.

And not forgetting how important dads are in the early family days, they are also offering male employees half their salary if they take six months leave to stay at home with their newborn.

Aurizon CEO Lance Hockridge said the ‘shared care’ scheme was designed to ensure women weren’t forced to take the full burden of childcare.

Paid Parental Scheme

The scheme lets a new mother take six months’ leave on half pay, and then pocket 150 per cent of her salary if her partner takes unpaid leave from a different employer for up to six months. And, if both parents work for Aurizon, each can take six months off in turn.

“We’ve thought outside the box to genuinely alter the dynamics of childcare responsibilities within Aurizon families,” he said.

“At its core this is really about reducing the potential career and financial impacts women face after extended unpaid parental leave and subsequent part-time employment.

“We believe the program is the first of its kind in Australia, which makes us very proud to lead by example in changing the way our society thinks about childcare and workplace flexibility. Equalising caring responsibilities would be a big step forward.”

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