Australian employers commonly offer paid parental leave – in addition to the government scheme – to attract and retain workers in a competitive jobs market.
But the largest listed childcare provider in Australia, G8 Education, has no such policy, drawing the attention of activist shareholders who want to pressure it to change.
James Alexander, from the Sustainable Investment Exchange (Six), said the platform was preparing to lodge a shareholder resolution on the issue at the education provider’s annual general meeting in May.
“The people we trust to look after our children are not supported to look after their own,” Alexander said. “We’ve spoken to the company and they have refused to change their stance.”
Six describes itself as “like CommSec for ethical investors” by enabling investors who buy shares through the platform to pressure companies to make improvements to their environmental or social policies.
This can be done via a resolution, which requires the support of 100 shareholders to call. Large investors with at least 5% of voting rights have the same rights.
While the results of a resolution are non-binding, such strategies are frequently used overseas to express shareholder views, which can prompt a board to take action or risk an investor backlash.
Alexander said the campaign had the support of major investment and superannuation funds to change G8’s policy.
A G8 spokesperson said the company provided team members with meaningful benefits that included staff childcare discounts, six weeks of annual leave for teachers and above-award pay.
“At G8 Education we recognise that our team members are our biggest asset, and we do our best to provide a supportive and inclusive working environment,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the company would “continue to evaluate our employment terms, conditions, and benefits”.
G8 runs more than 430 childcare centres around Australia and employs about 10,000 people, mainly women.
The sector has modest pay levels and experiences significant turnover rates, prompting Labor to strike a deal last year to give early childhood education workers a government-funded 15% pay rise, phased in over two years, if centres limit fee increases.
About 68% of employers in Australia offer employer-paid parental leave, in addition to the government scheme, according to 2023-24 data. The percentage has been rising quickly, with some organisations now offering equal parental leave for men and women.
Parental schemes are now expected among major companies, with some legal and accounting firms offering up to six months of paid leave in addition to the government’s minimum wage scheme.
Many miners have also sought to become more family friendly and now offer at least 18 weeks of paid leave for parents of newborn or newly adopted children.
Childcare providers tend to have more modest schemes, ranging from zero to 11 weeks of employer-paid leave, according to G8 analysis. Many are not-for-profit providers.
The chief executive of the advocacy group The Parenthood, Georgie Dent, said while parental leave was primarily a health policy, it also had financial advantages for companies.
“A lot of larger employers have used their parental leave settings as a key tool to attract and retain staff,” Dent said. “The evidence base is really clear that paying parental leave is far more cost effective than constantly recruiting to replace staff.”
She said paid parental leave schemes were also leading to greater workforce participation, which was good for the broader economy.
“It really does keep parents connected to their employer,” Dent said. “When you have that connection, it becomes perfectly normal and reasonable for people to go off and have a baby, and then normal for them to return when they are ready.”
