Stage 2- Preparing for Parental Leave

Get ready for your leave

The Preparing for Parental Leave stage provides tools and helpful tips to gradually handover your work commitments and review your career aspirations, factoring in changes to your personal circumstances. Take a look at the resources surrounding key elements of this stage, including career planning, handover tips and staying connected while on leave.

Regularly reviewing and planning your career is important throughout your working life. Finding time for yourself and your career as you prepare to expand your family can be a challenge. Planning ahead can help you with a smooth transition and with your own wellbeing.

It's worth spending some time to think about your career goals and your return to work plans. It's also helpful to have a conversation with your manager about your plans in the context of your role.

Start by considering your ideal return to work scenario then brainstorm aspects of your job/career that you want to continue or discontinue and how you would like to balance work and family. Also think about how you would communicate your career goals and return to work scenario to your manager, your team, and your family.

Transport Career Guide is a helpful tool when reviewing and planning your career. It helps you reflect on where you’re at now and where you might want to go, and provide resources and activities to help you develop a plan to get there.

The key to a smooth transition from taking parental leave to returning to work involves effective and ongoing communication between you and your manager. The first step is to start planning early to make sure that all the necessary arrangements are made.

Below are some tips for handover:

  • Think through how your absence will be managed.
  • Consider who will be impacted by your absence and what you will need to communicate to them and when.
  • Decide when you would like to start your leave and plan backwards.
  • Discuss with your manager who will be responsible for elements of your job while you are away and book time in advance to train and hand over to the relevant person.
  • Let your colleagues know your last day few weeks before you leave and who they can contact during your absence.
  • Plan a formal performance management review with your manager before your leave.
  • Access Staying Connected Program resources and use the Staying Connected Plan as a guide for discussion with your manager.
  • Tidy up your desk and prepare for your handover.
  • Arrange for the return of access cards and other assets if applicable.
  • Have a contingency plan in case you have to start your leave earlier than planned.

Use the Staying Connected Plan as a guide for a discussion with your manager. You may also like to:

  • Discuss flexible working options
  • Meet with your wider team to tell them about your arrangements
  • Discuss handover
  • Identify what level of contact you’d like with Transport while on leave
  • Find out about Keeping in Touch (KIT) days
  • Consider whether you’d like to attend a Staying Connected workshop before your return or shortly after your return to work.

Send your plan to the Diversity and Inclusion team.

Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days

Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days are an initiative aimed at supporting employees on unpaid parental leave to attend work with the aim of supporting their eventual return to the workplace. Depending on the request, KIT days can be accessed for up to 10 days during unpaid Parental leave for primary caregivers. See Keeping in Touch (KIT) days FAQs.

Workshop

Transport offers half-day workshops to support you on your parental leave journey. Through these workshops, you can:

  • Access best practice support for transitioning to work and flexible working options
  • Formulate your career goals and vision for success as a working parent at Transport
  • Develop skills to balance family life and career, including managing and delivering on expectations from stakeholders and team members
  • Develop skills to initiate and participate positively in flexibility conversations
  • Network with fellow returning parents across the Transport.

Send your Staying Connected Plan to diversityandinclusion@transport.nsw.gov.au to access a Staying Connected Workshop.


Use this checklist and timeline to prompt actions and processes between you and your manager for your period of parental leave, according to your Staying Connected plan.

‘Check in’ and see how you are going. You can also get some ideas of what you can do to ensure you are looking after your health and well-being during different stages of your journey.

Download the PDF version here

Get ready for your leave

The Preparing for Parental Leave stage provides tools and helpful tips to gradually handover your work commitments and review your career aspirations, factoring in changes to your personal circumstances. Take a look at the resources surrounding key elements of this stage, including career planning, handover tips and staying connected while on leave.

Regularly reviewing and planning your career is important throughout your working life. Finding time for yourself and your career as you prepare to expand your family can be a challenge. Planning ahead can help you with a smooth transition and with your own wellbeing.

It's worth spending some time to think about your career goals and your return to work plans. It's also helpful to have a conversation with your manager about your plans in the context of your role.

Start by considering your ideal return to work scenario then brainstorm aspects of your job/career that you want to continue or discontinue and how you would like to balance work and family. Also think about how you would communicate your career goals and return to work scenario to your manager, your team, and your family.

Transport Career Guide is a helpful tool when reviewing and planning your career. It helps you reflect on where you’re at now and where you might want to go, and provide resources and activities to help you develop a plan to get there.

The key to a smooth transition from taking parental leave to returning to work involves effective and ongoing communication between you and your manager. The first step is to start planning early to make sure that all the necessary arrangements are made.

Below are some tips for handover:

  • Think through how your absence will be managed.
  • Consider who will be impacted by your absence and what you will need to communicate to them and when.
  • Decide when you would like to start your leave and plan backwards.
  • Discuss with your manager who will be responsible for elements of your job while you are away and book time in advance to train and hand over to the relevant person.
  • Let your colleagues know your last day few weeks before you leave and who they can contact during your absence.
  • Plan a formal performance management review with your manager before your leave.
  • Access Staying Connected Program resources and use the Staying Connected Plan as a guide for discussion with your manager.
  • Tidy up your desk and prepare for your handover.
  • Arrange for the return of access cards and other assets if applicable.
  • Have a contingency plan in case you have to start your leave earlier than planned.

Use the Staying Connected Plan as a guide for a discussion with your manager. You may also like to:

  • Discuss flexible working options
  • Meet with your wider team to tell them about your arrangements
  • Discuss handover
  • Identify what level of contact you’d like with Transport while on leave
  • Find out about Keeping in Touch (KIT) days
  • Consider whether you’d like to attend a Staying Connected workshop before your return or shortly after your return to work.

Send your plan to the Diversity and Inclusion team.

Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days

Keeping in Touch (KIT) Days are an initiative aimed at supporting employees on unpaid parental leave to attend work with the aim of supporting their eventual return to the workplace. Depending on the request, KIT days can be accessed for up to 10 days during unpaid Parental leave for primary caregivers. See Keeping in Touch (KIT) days FAQs.

Workshop

Transport offers half-day workshops to support you on your parental leave journey. Through these workshops, you can:

  • Access best practice support for transitioning to work and flexible working options
  • Formulate your career goals and vision for success as a working parent at Transport
  • Develop skills to balance family life and career, including managing and delivering on expectations from stakeholders and team members
  • Develop skills to initiate and participate positively in flexibility conversations
  • Network with fellow returning parents across the Transport.

Send your Staying Connected Plan to diversityandinclusion@transport.nsw.gov.au to access a Staying Connected Workshop.


Use this checklist and timeline to prompt actions and processes between you and your manager for your period of parental leave, according to your Staying Connected plan.

‘Check in’ and see how you are going. You can also get some ideas of what you can do to ensure you are looking after your health and well-being during different stages of your journey.

Download the PDF version here

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Page last updated: 17 Jun 2019, 11:30 PM