Employees who resign within a year after returning from parental leave will be required to repay two months of their benefit
EY Australia is updating its paid parental leave scheme with new eligibility rules and return-to-work expectations on employees, according to reports.
The changes include requiring employees to work six months before they can become eligible for the consulting giant's parental leave scheme of up to 26 weeks, The Australian Financial Review reported.
Another change to the scheme is introducing a new return-to-work expectation that will require employees to repay a portion of their used parental leave if they resign within a year.
According to the AFR report, employees who have used at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave and then resign within a year after returning to work will be required to repay eight weeks of the paid leave.
"You are only required to repay EY Paid Parental Leave (EYPPL) if you have taken at least 12 weeks of EYPPL and you voluntarily resign within 12 months of returning to work," EY's Q&A document read.
"If you have only taken 10 weeks of EYPPL, you have taken less than 12 weeks of EYPPL, the repayment requirement does not apply."
Repayment options may include offsetting the repayment amount against the employee's final pay, lump sum repayment, or a repayment plan, according to EY.
EY's 8,000-strong workforce was informed of the changes through a message from Jenelle McMaster, EY regional deputy CEO and people and culture leader, Oceania.
McMaster said the change was a "clearer structure for parental leave."
"It is designed to provide greater consistency and predictability, while maintaining strong support for parents," McMaster added.
According to the people leader, the arrangements reflect the scale of the company's investment in employees and its shared focus on supporting and retaining talent over the long term.
"Our ambition remains unchanged: to build a better working world, one where our people can build meaningful careers and families," she said.
The change makes EY the only Big Four consulting firm to introduce a repayment policy for resigning within a year of returning from parental leave, according to the AFR.
It also joins KPMG in introducing a six-month eligibility waiting period for paid parental leave, though KPMG onlu applies the rule to non-primary carers.
