Can I contact my employee while they are away on parental leave?

The dos and don'ts when communicating with employees on parental leave

An employee proceeding on parental leave can be complex to navigate for both employees and employers.

There are certain legal requirements that must be observed when it comes to applications for parental leave, and sitting alongside of the legislative minimums, a good parental leave policy or procedure will assist businesses to be in a position to plan well for parental leave absences and when employees return from leave, and ensure the business operations continue to run smoothly while the employee is away.

The following guide will assist employers to plan for an employee who is going on parental leave.

Ensure you have a plan

Once the going on leave part has all been successfully navigated, businesses are often unsure of the dos and don’ts of how to interact with employees once they are on leave.

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Have a communication plan

Part of the planning process should be a communication plan where the employee taking leave advises how often they would like to be contacted and what things they would like to be contacted about.

Good planning means you have been able to temporarily replace the employee if required, and that a comprehensive handover took place so that all tasks and responsibilities can be taken on by somebody else during the leave period.

A good parental leave policy means you have adequate time to be able to develop plans and put them in place well before the employee proceeds on leave.

Having the interactions while on leave all planned out means you don't have to worry that the employee is feeling excluded, you are able to respect their boundaries, and the employee won't get frustrated about not being left in peace while on leave because it has all been pre-agreed.

Outside what has been agreed in the communication plan, the employee should be left to enjoy this period of leave with their new arrival.

Plan for critical employee absences and resignations

Talent management, critical skill and capability needs and succession planning are essential for business continuation planning.

Stepping back even further, those businesses that actively manage their talent, identify skill or capability gaps in the business and plan for succession are better equipped to enact plans when employees leave the organisation or are away for extended periods of time.

Leaving these things to chance in the hope that employees will stay forever can leave businesses scrambling when this is not the case. Wherever possible proactive planning trumps reactive or remedial actions every time.

Let Buzz HR help you today

If putting the above in place feels overwhelming and just too hard, don't worry - it is not for us! Our simplified practical approach can assist you to lay a good foundation to manage your people in a planned, proactive series of activities that takes much less time and effort than reactive or remedial actions.

Contact Buzz HR today for an obligation-free consultation to discuss how we can help you with what we do best, so you can concentrate on what you do best.