The Fair Work Act 2009 requires that before an employer engages an employee to perform the work of another employee who is taking unpaid parental leave, the employer must notify the replacement employee that:
- The engagement to perform work is temporary only
- The rights of the employer and the employee taking parental leave with respect to a right to cancel the leave if the pregnancy ends, other than by giving birth to a living child
- The return to work guarantee of the parental leave employee
- The right of the employer to require the employee taking parental leave to return to work if the employee ceases to have responsibility for the care of the child.
It’s important that the replacement employee is advised of these rights. REEF has a template letter you can provide to the replacement employee, so you are sure you’re meeting your statutory obligations.
Simply login to the REEF People Management System and click on ‘Employment agreements and commission structures’ in the ‘Library’ tab. Download the file called ‘Letter of offer – Maternity leave replacement position’.
