Allied health professionals in Queensland Health returning to work after maternity leave: hours of work and duration of time on part-time hours
Julie Hulcombe A B E , Sandra Capra C and Gillian Whitehouse DA Allied Health Professions’ Office of Queensland, Clinical Excellence Division, Department of Health Queensland, PO Box 2368, Fortitude Valley BC, Qld 4006, Australia.
B Present address: School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, Level 5, Human Movement Studies Building (26B), Blair Drive, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
C School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, Level 5, Human Movement Studies Building (26B), Blair Drive, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Email: s.capra@uq.edu.au
D School of Political Science and International Studies, Level 5, General Purpose North (39A), Campbell Road, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia. Email: g.whitehouse@uq.edu.au
E Corresponding author. Email: julie.hulcombe@uq.net.au
Australian Health Review 44(1) 56-61 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH18110
Submitted: 19 June 2017 Accepted: 16 October 2018 Published: 30 January 2019
Abstract
Objective The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of the flexible working arrangements (FWA) used by allied health professionals (AHP) on return from maternity leave. This is a crucial issue for staff management practices in a changing regulatory context.
Methods A retrospective convenience sample of AHP employed by Queensland Health (QH) in 2006, using deidentified payroll data, was analysed descriptively to determine employment status on return from maternity leave in 2006 to December 2014. A qualitative study that surveyed managers of AHP departments was subsequently undertaken to complement the data from the payroll study. Twelve managers, across six allied health professions in three hospitals in south-east Queensland were surveyed for this component.
Results The payroll study included 169 employees (138 full-time equivalent (FTE)), 61 of whom resigned over the study period. Of those who returned to work after the 2006 maternity event (n = 152), 92% (n = 140) initially returned part-time. At 31 December 2014, of the 108 staff working for QH, 77% (n = 83) were part-time. In total, 75.4 FTE positions were released over the 8-year period through reduced working hours and resignations. The perceptions of surveyed managers were consistent with the data from the payroll study.
Conclusion The study showed that most AHPs who took maternity leave returned to work part-time and remained part-time for an extended period. The data suggest that managers could permanently backfill a proportion of hours released due to FWA after maternity leave without major budgetary risk due to the need to accommodate existing employees’ entitlements. However, this would require a significant policy change.
What is known about this topic? Current research on this topic has concentrated on the benefits of paid maternity leave, timing of return to work and use of FWA by employees on return to work after maternity leave.
What does this paper add? This paper presents the first comprehensive data on patterns of return to work and part-time hours following maternity leave for AHP employees. Access to a unique payroll dataset provided the opportunity to describe this for a cohort of AHP employees over a period of 8 years following a maternity event. A survey of AHP managers’ experience with maternity leave and return to work arrangements supported the findings, underlining the associated difficulties with staff management.
What are the implications for practitioners? The hours released through resignations or reduced hours over this period of study suggest that management could backfill a proportion of released hours permanently, or at least offer temporary staff longer-term contracts, once an employee returns from maternity leave on reduced hours
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