Work/Life Balance Initiatives

Name of Initiative

Work/Life Balance Initiatives

Purpose

Sydney Water delivers essential and sustainable water services for more than four million people living in Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. It is Australia's largest water utility with over 3,200 staff.

Sydney Water offers a suite of benefits and conditions that allows staff to balance the demands of work and personal life. Some of these initiatives include flexible work arrangements, leave provisions, wellbeing programs and parental services. These initiatives are incorporated into organisational agreements and policies to ensure they are accessible to all staff.

These work/life balance initiatives are promoted as one of Sydney Water’s major attraction factors when recruiting staff. This assists in recruiting and retaining quality staff.

Brief Description

Examples of work/life balance initiatives at Sydney Water:

Flexible Work arrangements - includes rostered days off, flexible start and end times, compressed work week, working from home, job share and part time work arrangements.

Leave provisions - some of these include packaged additional leave, long service leave, personal and carer’s leave, leave without pay, 14 weeks of full paid or 28 weeks on half pay maternity leave, extended unpaid maternity leave up to 2 years, 1 week paid partner’s leave, unpaid parental leave, community service leave and study and examination leave.

Programs and services related to childcare and parenting

• Stay in Touch Program - enables staff on maternity or parental leave to keep their work relationship alive during their absence.
• Carer’s Room Facility - available at Sydney Water’s Head Office enables mothers to return to work and continue breastfeeding their child. Working parents who have an emergency situation where they have to bring their child to work can also use this facility.
• Parental Leave Information - Q&A documents improves policy understanding and assist employees and managers to organise maternity and parental leave.
• Childcare and eldercare information kits - available on Sydney Water’s intranet to enable employees to have better access to information regarding childcare and eldercare support services and assistance.
• Sydney Water owned Childcare Centres - Kira and Willows are Sydney Water owned child care centres located in Paddington and Liverpool. Fees are based on market rates for the respective locations and may be paid on a salary sacrifice basis.
• Childcare Allowance - primary care givers who do not use the Sydney Water childcare centres may be eligible for a childcare allowance of $21 a day for each pre-school age child attending an approved child care provider. This allowance is to assist employees who have pre-school age children to return to work on a part or full-time basis.

Other Work/Life Balance Programs and Services

Other programs include fitness classes, an educational assistance program for tertiary studies, employee assistance program, Women@Work program, Men@Work program, retirement seminars, and quit smoking workshops.

The initiatives are strongly supported by senior management. The Managing Director and the General Manager Sustainability, who also acts as Sydney Water’s Women’s Liaison Officer, have been strong advocates of the programs.

Key Results

• Sydney Water received the 2008 Diversity@Work Award in the Employment and Inclusion Awards - Work Life Balance Category, and in 2007 a high commendation in the ACCI/BCA National Work & Family Awards.
• The success and impact of these initiatives is evidenced by the support they have received and the use by staff. Work/life balance initiatives were rated highly in the Sydney Water June 2008 staff survey.
• Improved employee attraction and retention. Sydney Water has a low turnover rate of 4.9%, well below the industry average for utilities of 8.07%.
• Contributed to a loyal and committed workforce.
• Staff balance their work and life responsibilities successfully.
• Allows for career development for staff.
• Allows for improved employee engagement.

Challenges

(how challenges were overcome)

• Increased communication by promoting initiatives through weekly eNews, monthly newsletter, intranet and staff benefits brochure.
• Include ’promote and/or support work/life balance‘ as one of the key behaviours that staff are expected to demonstrate in their day-to-day role.
• Ensure there are policies and strategies in place to support work/life balance options and other services/initiatives.
• One of the four attraction factors of our EVP is Work/Life Balance – Sydney Water is family-friendly, flexible and inclusive, eg roster days, childcare services, flexible work hour.

Person to Contact

Catherine Ng
HR Consultant
Sydney Water
Catherine.ng@sydneywater.com.au
02 9350 5199