This week my fellow pharmacy proprietors at Epic Pharmacy and Slade Pharmacy and I announced the introduction of paid parental leave for our pharmacy teams across Australia.
It’s an announcement we were very proud to make, and one that has already received great feedback from those team members who are about to welcome new additions to their families!
One of the things that was most important to us when constructing the policy was ensuring that not only would team members receive full pay for the 10 week leave period, but their superannuation contributions would also be made.
We discussed the superannuation gap that exists for many women at our Iconic Women Financial Security seminar last year, and know that time away from work while having children is a significant contributor to this, so it was really important that the policy also included super payments.
With women making up over 80% of our pharmacy workforce, it’s really important to us to look at what we are doing to ensure we provide them with the best support possible them both at work and in their personal lives, and adding paid parental leave to our long term commitment to wage equality is the logical next step. The policy includes non-primary carers too, who will also receive a weeks paid leave to support their partners through the arrival of new additions.
The pharmacy industry is largely underrepresented when it comes to paid parental leave schemes, but just because it isn’t common doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. Since we announced the policy on Tuesday I’ve heard first hand accounts of the difference that this benefit will make, and know that this investment in our people is one that will deliver returns on all fronts.
Amazing work you do!