Future Group is strongly committed to being inclusive for all its staff. As a business that exists to build a future free from climate change and inequality, it is vital we pursue equity for our staff and stay true to our purpose.

This Public Holiday Swap Policy is a key milestone in the pursuit of our purpose. Please take some time to read this policy, ask us questions, or give us feedback. Thank you for keeping the company accountable.

Background

What is a Public Holiday Swap?

Swapping an existing public holiday for an alternate day off to allow a person to make use of the time off that they are entitled to, but on a day that is culturally significant to them. Some people may find certain public holidays personally irrelevant or offensive because of their historical, social and/or political contexts.

Why is it important?

The Future Group is strongly committed to reconciliation for First Nations peoples, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This is an integral part of our identity as a business and as a leader in this space. A necessary part of this commitment is recognising the systemic racism in Australian workplaces and society that has caused and can cause significant damage in the lives of staff who identify as First Nations or culturally diverse. Beyond recognition, we commit to actively finding ways to decolonise the workplace.

Having a Public Holiday Swap Policy is crucial to this pursuit, allowing us to further promote reconciliation and to celebrate and support our diverse workforce, noting that we also encourage employees to prioritise taking their annual leave to maintain personal well-being.

Purpose

Future Group employees with leave entitlements get certain religious, cultural, or historic days off as public holidays. However, we recognise that these holidays are grounded in a colonial past, and might be irrelevant or offensive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and employees from other cultural and faith backgrounds.

We want to embrace a flexible approach that acknowledges the calendars of all people in Australia. In particular, First Nations Peoples may wish to use the Public Holiday Swap Policy to swap out public holidays for cultural, faith or ceremonial reasons, Sorry Business and at times such as NAIDOC week.

Staff, including First Nations Peoples, may wish to make alternative leave arrangements for January 26th, as well as other public holidays in the Australian calendar.

To foster allyship in the workplace, staff who do not identify as First Nations or from a culturally or faith diverse background are also entitled to Public Holiday Swap Leave.

Scope

This policy is applicable to all FSG employees employed under a full-time or part-time basis (either on a permanent or fixed-term contract).

Given the flexible nature of their work arrangements and the fact that they are not entitled to paid leave, the Public Holiday Swap Policy is not applicable to independent contractors or casual employees.

Our Commitments

All full-time and part-time employees (either on a permanent or fixed-term contract) are entitled to swap any number of public holidays within a calendar year, with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, which must be taken as public holidays due to the office shutdown period.
The public holiday(s) can be swapped for any other working day in the same calendar year.
Public holiday swaps can be combined with other types of leave offered by Future Group, with the exception of Mental Health Leave i.e. you cannot take a public holiday, or a day of leave you have swapped for a public holiday, in conjunction with Mental Health Leave. Employees should refer to the leave guidelines on Confluence for further information.
Please refer to the Confluence page for further information about the End of Year Shutdown period.
Future Group employees employed on a casual basis and independent contractors do not have any paid leave entitlements, including public holiday entitlements. However, Future Group recognises the need for all to observe events of cultural significance and/or be allies. Thus, all casual employees and contractors are entitled to the flexibility to swap out days they usually work in order to observe events of cultural significance.
Managers are encouraged and expected to facilitate flexibility for full-time employees, part-time employees, casual employees and independent contractors to observe events that are culturally significant to them.
Employees can only swap public holidays that occur after their employment commences at Future Group. i.e. an employee beginning their employment with Future Group on the 1st of March cannot swap the 26th of January public holiday for later in the year.
Employees are expected to discuss any swaps with their manager to ensure business continuity.
We ask employees to submit holiday swap requests at least 2 weeks in advance. Future Group recognises culturally significant events (such as Sorry Business) may not allow for advance notice and will work to accommodate requests at short notice, as is the case for personal leave.

Rights & Responsibilities

All employees are strongly encouraged to:

Utilise their annual leave entitlement, in addition to accessing the flexibility that this policy affords them;
Understand this policy and seek clarification from People & Culture or management where required;
Consider this policy while completing work-related duties and at any time while representing Future Group;
Support fellow team members in their awareness of this policy;
Support and contribute to Future Group’s aim of providing an equitable and supportive environment for all team members; and
Seek assistance from their manager, supervisors and / or the People Programs and DEIB Specialist if they have any concerns or are having difficulties.

Additional Responsibilities of Directors, Managers, Supervisors and People Programs and DEIB Specialist:

Ensure that all team members are made aware of this policy; and
Actively support and contribute to the implementation of this policy, including Future Group’s commitments.

Communication

This Public Holiday Swap Policy is an effort to make Future Group a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation. While launching this policy is a vital step, its success depends on the awareness and understanding all staff share around the importance of such policies. Future Group will ensure that:

All team members receive a copy of this policy during the onboarding process, and understand their obligations and rights under this policy;
This policy is easily accessible by all members of the organisation;
Specific attention will be paid to socialising this policy and its implications with the Senior Leadership Team to reduce barriers and encourage uptake;
All team members are informed when a particular activity aligns with this policy;
All team members are encouraged to actively contribute and provide feedback to this policy; and
All team members are notified of all changes to this policy.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this policy, please comment directly on this document or reach out to People & Culture or your manager.

Additional policies and resources

FSG is committed to DEI principles and expects all employees to complete anti-racism training. This training will provide key context about racism and equity.
For a quick refresher or more resources, check out these anti-racism resources on Confluence.
All First Nations and culturally diverse employees are invited to join #SuperGlobal, an employee resource group. Please reach out to the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer for more details or to join the group.
Some people might also require additional financial support to observe culturally significant days. Permanent employees can apply for a Future Super Group Employee Support Loan. Further information can be found in the Employee Support Loan Guidelines.
If you’d like to read a bit more about certain significant events for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, these resources are a helpful starting point:

Employees that are interested to learn more about (some) of the many culturally significant days can access this calendar crowd-sourced by SuperGlobal members.
Additional support is available by reaching out to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer if you have any questions, concerns, or feedback (the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer will seek support from #SuperGlobal where appropriate).
If employees have any questions around leave entitlement, or think they have been denied leave swap they are entitled to, please contact a People and Culture Representative for next steps.

Some fineprint

Any obligation contained in this policy does not create contractual rights. Any benefits or entitlements described in this policy is discretionary and Future Group has the right to change, remove or replace any obligation, benefit or entitlement at any time.

If you have any questions, please email us at peopleandculture@futuregroup.com.au