What is Floating Leave?!

Have you heard the term floating public holiday leave? If you haven't, you are among the majority.

Floating public holiday leave is a new concept being implemented by predominantly large, global organisations. The key concept is to provide flexibility and cater to individuals religious and cultural needs.

In Australia, many of our public holidays are centered around Christian holidays, such as Easter or Christmas. But with the majority of Australian's identifying as non-religious or a religion other than Christian, offering floating public holidays leave can be a competitive differentiator and an attractive offering to staff.

As this is a relatively new concept, we are yet to see how this can be applied in the care sector, particularly for businesses that operate on a 24/7 365 basis.

Still, a recent article from the Australian HR Institute, which you can read here, provides some food for thought as well as some recommendations if you are considering changing your leave policy. And we know that trends we see in large multi-nations eventually filter out and become more broadly adopted.

If you are considering major changes to your workforce procedures, speak with our consultants about change management and retention strategies.