Assisting my employee to Keep in Touch with the workplace

Note: It is important to note that some Keeping in Touch provisions may change. See which Keeping in Touch provisions may change in the future.

Can my employee work while receiving Parental Leave Pay?

To receive Parental Leave Pay, your employee must be on leave or not working from the time they become their child’s primary carer until the end of their Paid Parental Leave period.

You will need to notify Centrelink on 13 1158 if your employee returns to work before the end of their Paid Parental Leave period, as their Parental Leave Pay will stop.

Under the Paid Parental Leave scheme your employee has the option, with your agreement, to Keep in Touch with the workplace. The purpose of the Keeping in Touch provision is to allow an employee to remain connected with the workplace without losing their entitlement to Parental Leave Pay.

What is Keeping in Touch ?

The Paid Parental Leave scheme supports your employee to take time away from work to care for their newborn or recently adopted child. It also includes a Keeping in Touch provision to assist your employee in returning to the workforce following their paid and/or unpaid parental leave.

The provision simply ensures that your employee does not lose their entitlement to Parental Leave Pay if they participate in paid work for the purpose of Keeping in Touch . Your employee can access up to 10 Keeping in Touch days from the time they become their child’s primary carer until the end of their Paid Parental Leave period.

You and your employee must both agree that they can take part in a Keeping in Touch activity and the arrangements for the activity.  Either party can decide they do not wish the Keeping in Touch activity to take place.

If your employee returns to work, or participates in paid work before the end of their Paid Parental Leave period for any purpose other than Keeping in Touch , their Parental Leave Pay will stop.

Will a Keeping in Touch day affect an employee’s existing workplace leave entitlements?

The Paid Parental Leave scheme provides Parental Leave Pay but does not provide an entitlement to leave, it is important to consider the effect that accessing a Keeping in Touch day may have on your employee’s entitlement to unpaid parental leave.

Under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act 2009, employees who have worked for you for 12 months or more before the birth or adoption of their child, may be entitled to access up to 12 months unpaid parental leave. This unpaid parental leave must be taken in a single continuous period.  Accessing a Keeping in Touch day may break this single continuous period of unpaid parental leave.

The government has introduced amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 into Parliament to ensure that accessing a Keeping in Touch day does not affect an employee’s entitlement to 12 months unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards. Until this amendment has been passed by Parliament, employees who are receiving or will receive Parental Leave Pay, are advised not to access a Keeping in Touch day under the Paid Parental Leave scheme if they are unsure how this will affect their entitlement to unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards.

An employee cannot be on paid leave and work at the same time. If an employee accesses a Keeping in Touch day while on a period of paid leave, the employee’s period of paid leave may be extended, or the paid leave may be re-credited.

Accessing a Keeping in Touch day while on a period of unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards will not extend an employee’s unpaid parental leave period once amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 are passed. 

Work performed on a Keeping in Touch day will count as service and you should also be aware of the implications this may have on your employee’s entitlements such as leave accrual.

For more information about workplace entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 visit the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website or call 13 1394.

Which Keeping in Touch provisions may change in the future?

Under the current Paid Parental Leave scheme, a Keeping in Touch activity cannot occur within two weeks of the birth or adoption of a child.  Under the only planned change to the Keeping in Touch provisions and subject to the passage of legislation, an employer will not be able to ask their employee to participate in a Keeping in Touch activity if it is to occur within six weeks after the birth or adoption.

There are no plans to change the restriction in relation to employees. An employee may request to participate in a Keeping in Touch activity under the Paid Parental Leave scheme as long as the activity is not to occur within two weeks after the birth. 

Subject to the passage of legislation the government has introduced Keeping in Touch provisions to the Fair Work Act 2009. These proposed changes would mean that employees who access unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards would have access to similar Keeping in Touch provisions to those that apply under the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

What paid work activities are covered under the Keeping in Touch provision?

A paid work activity for the purpose of Keeping in Touch should assist your employee to:

• refresh their skills
• become familiar with new or updated processes, and
• be involved in forward planning discussions or a meeting that may affect their role.

Activities could include, but are not limited to:

• participating in a planning meeting
• performing on-the-job training, and
• performing work to become familiar with the workplace and/or their role before returning to work.

Both you and your employee need to agree on the type of paid work activity that your employee will perform on the Keeping in Touch day.  

What workplace activities are not considered as Keeping in Touch ?

If your employee participates in a workplace activity they are not entitled to receive any payment or benefit for, the activity will not count as a Keeping in Touch day and will not cause your employee’s Parental Leave Pay to stop.

Keeping in Touch does not prevent your employee voluntarily attending the workplace to:

• visit colleagues
• participate in social events, or
• undertake other unpaid activities at work.

What is the difference between Keeping in Touch and returning to work?

It is very important that you and your employee both understand the difference between returning to work and Keeping in Touch as it may affect your employee’s entitlement to Parental Leave Pay.

Keeping in Touch

Your employee will be considered as Keeping in Touch if they participate in a paid work activity for the purpose of assisting their transition back into the workplace. This would involve a one-off or occasional paid work activity.

Keeping in Touch example: participating in paid work to become familiar with a new system before returning to work.

Katya has told her boss she would like to understand how a new system works before she officially returns to work in a few weeks time.  Her boss asks if she would like to work one day next week when there will be a spare desk at work because a colleague will be away.

Returning to work

If your employee participates in paid work for reasons other than to assist their transition back to the workplace, they will be considered as returning to work. Resuming regular work activities, even at reduced hours, would be considered to be returning to work. Your employee will also be considered as to having returned to work if they access more than 10 Keeping in Touch days during their Paid Parental Leave period.  If you are self-employed, you will be able to keep an eye on your business without being regarded as having returned to work. More information for self-employed parents is available at Paid Parental Leave scheme eligibility.

Returning to work example: backfilling for an absent staff member.

Emily is asked by her boss to do a day’s work to cover the absence of another employee.  This is regarded as a return to work under the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

With your agreement, your employee may elect to return to work before the end of their Paid Parental Leave period. If your employee returns to work, you will need to notify Centrelink on 13 1158 as their Parental Leave Pay will stop.

You should not expect or require your employee to ’return to work’ before the end of their Paid Parental Leave period. If you ask your employee to return to work before the end of the period, or before the end of their unpaid parental leave under the National Employment Standards, your employee can say no.

How is a Keeping in Touch day calculated?

If your employee participates in a paid work activity for the purpose of Keeping in Touch for one hour or more on a day, that will count as one Keeping in Touch day towards the 10 day limit.

Example one

An employer and their employee agree that the employee can access a Keeping in Touch day to participate in a meeting. The meeting runs for three hours in the morning on one day.  The employee is considered to have accessed one Keeping in Touch day.

Example two

An employer and their employee agree that the employee can Keep in Touch with the workplace and participate in 12 hours of on-the-job skills development. The on-the-job skills development runs over three days for four hours on each day.  The employee is considered to have accessed three Keeping in Touch days.

Do Keeping in Touch days need to be recorded?

There is no requirement for either you or your employee to notify Centrelink or keep a formal record of Keeping in Touch activities.  However, it is considered best practice and in the interests of both parties to have a documented agreement about the arrangements that will apply to paid work while your employee is on leave, including a Keeping in Touch day.

For example, you and your employee may have an exchange of emails to agree:

• that a Keeping in Touch day will occur,
• the paid work activity to be undertaken,
• the timing and duration of the paid work, and
• the timing of payment.

Having a record of the agreed arrangements in place before the Keeping in Touch activity occurs would be regarded as best practice.

As the day will be regarded as paid work and paid accordingly, the usual record keeping and notification requirements will apply, such as payroll records and payslips.

Who needs to notify Centrelink if more than 10 Keeping in Touch days are taken?

You have an obligation to advise Centrelink if your employee accesses more than 10 Keeping in Touch days from the time they become their child’s primary carer until the end of their Paid Parental Leave period.  You can do this by contacting the Centrelink Business Hotline on 13 1158.

Your employee also has an obligation to notify us if they have exceeded the 10 day limit. They can do this by calling 13 6150.

How can your employee access a Keeping in Touch day?

You and your employee will need to have a discussion about your employee accessing a Keeping in Touch day. Both you and your employee will need to agree for your employee to participate in a paid work activity for the purposes of Keeping in Touch. Either party can decide they do not wish the Keeping in Touch activity to take place.

Case study:

Your employee may be approaching the end of their Paid Parental Leave period and they are beginning to prepare themselves to return to the workplace. You and your employee both agree that they can access a Keeping in Touch day to participate in a paid work activity to undertake training in a new work process.   Both you and your employee need to be clear about the arrangements that will apply, and both should keep a written record of the agreed arrangements.

Alternatively, you may contact your employee and invite them to take part in a workplace planning day before the end of their Paid Parental Leave period, as the planning day may affect their role.

What payment arrangements apply to Keeping in Touch activities? 

As Keeping in Touch activities are defined as paid work, you are obliged to pay your employee for work performed. While Parental Leave Pay is paid at the rate of the National Minimum Wage, if an employee performs paid work on a Keeping in Touch day, they must be paid in accordance with their contract of employment or industrial instrument.

The government is not responsible for providing payments to employees for work performed on a Keeping in Touch day. This is your responsibility and both you and your employee should consider payment arrangements when agreeing to a Keeping in Touch activity.

The Paid Parental Leave scheme does not deal with matters relating to payment for work performed. More information about workplace entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009 is available at the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website at www.fairwork.gov.au or by calling 13 1394.

Note: You may want to consider arrangements associated with the Keeping in Touch provisions when negotiating future contracts of employment or industrial instruments.

Is Keeping in Touch right for my business? 

Before agreeing to a Keeping in Touch activity you should consider the following to help you decide if it is right for your workplace and if you are able to administer Keeping in Touch activities.

• Have my employee and I agreed to the Keeping in Touch activity? Is the activity for the purpose of Keeping in Touch or will it mean that my employee will actually return to work? Do I have, or should I have, an agreement or workplace policy that covers how an employee on parental leave will be paid for a Keeping in Touch activity?
• Do I understand how a Keeping in Touch day will affect leave accruals (eg. annual, long service and personal/carers leave)?
• Can my payroll system handle payment and management of entitlements for a Keeping in Touch activity?
• Do I understand that I will need  to advise Centrelink if I become aware that my employee has exceeded the 10 Keeping in Touch days.