Conditions

Employers should ensure conditions and benefits are not culturally biased and are able to cater equitably for Māori and Pasifika needs, especially whānau, aiga and cultural responsibilities. Leave and flexible working entitlements are a good place to start.

Contents

  1. Reducing bias >

  2. Recommended actions on leave - Kia Toipoto  >

Reducing bias

Kia Toipoto provides good guidance on ensuring cultural competence and reducing bias in leave. Much of this is about fighting the culture of ‘presenteeism’, removing stigma around taking leave for personal, family, cultural and community reasons, introducing paid cultural leave, and improving workplace understanding of the cultural and community responsibilities of Māori and Pasifika workers.

GEM recommends employers read the full guidance: Kia Toipoto: Career Progression, Pathways, Breaks and Leave (see page 27-28).

“It is important to challenge negative perceptions of leave to ensure that women, particularly Māori, Pacific and ethnic women, are not disadvantaged in the workplace or in their careers. The rapid transformation of work during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed opportunities to build more inclusive workplaces that support all workers to flourish. One example is paid cultural leave designed to support employees to take time away from work to attend their traditional rituals, customs, and dates of cultural significance.”

“I think it is not understood just how many staff have caring responsibilities at home due to family members having disabilities and medical conditions. This can and does impact on you in your work and on your own mental wellbeing. The ability to be very flexible with time, days of work and place of work can help so much.” - Pacific woman public servant Kia Toipoto guidance.

Recommended actions on leave - Kia Toipoto

Ensure leaders and people managers have active cover plans for absences
Having plans and processes to cover work when employees are on leave will ensure that people feel able to take leave as appropriate. For instance, ensuring that more than one staff member is familiar with each piece of work. It is important that plans are also available for part-time or flexible workers, and it is not assumed they can catch up by working their hours at another time. Managers and people leaders need to support people to ensure they are not coming to work sick, stressed or accruing significant annual leave time. It is worth noting that the pandemic compounded existing inequalities for parents/carers and workers with disabilities, leaving many of them feeling stretched and stressed. Ensure leaders proactively plan for staff shortages occurring due to the pandemic.

Role model leave use
Leaders and people managers should role model taking leave, including taking dependant leave. Peer and leader role modelling are the two most significant contributors to ensuring leave use is not stigmatised. “Leaving loudly” is an action workplace leaders can take, as it supports and normalises different patterns of work and challenges presenteeism. People leaders should build a team culture based on high trust.

Consider your organisational communications regarding leave
Consider promoting, via your intranet or other appropriate internal communications network, clear information about leave. For example, information about the cultural requirements of tangihanga and roles on the marae could enhance understanding of the whānau and community responsibilities Māori employees may have at a time of bereavement. Employees can also be actively encouraged to take their leave, and men can also be encouraged to take leave to care for a dependant to share caring responsibilities.

Read the full Kia Toipoto progression, pathways, breaks and leave guidance here.

GEM supports the Public Service Commission standard of Flexible Work by Default.