Revealed: The best workplaces for new dads

Where to work if you're a new dad. Source: Getty

Deloitte Australia is the top company to work for if you’re a new dad, a study of paid parental leave across the nation has revealed.

The second annual study by CoreData for HBF’s Direct Advice for Dads found larger employers are embracing the idea of paid parental leave for dads, with this year’s study showing a 50 per cent increase in the number of companies meeting the criteria for the list (66, up from 44).

Here are the top 20 companies for paid parental leave:

1. Deloitte Australia

2. Telstra

3. Medibank

4. Novartis

5. QBE Insurance Group

6. Tabcorp

7. Macquarie University

8. South32

9. Mirvac

10. Australian Securities Exchange

11. Commonwealth Bank

12. AustralianSuper

13. British American Tobacco

14. Australian National University

15. PwC

16. Curtin University

17. SAP Australia

18. EY

19. IAG

20. HBF

What makes a top workplace for new dads?

To make the list, companies have to meet the following four criteria:

1. Provide no less than two weeks’ paid secondary carer’s leave;

2. Provide a minimum of 12 weeks’ paid primary carer’s leave;

3. Offer flexible work practices to accommodate dads participating more fully in childcare responsibilities; and

4. Have a “pass-the-baton” policy where the primary carer’s leave is available for a minimum of 12 months after the arrival of a baby, allowing dads to step in as primary carer when their partners return to work.

According to the report, the top five employers make no distinction between secondary carer’s and primary carer’s leave, up from only one on last year’s list.

“These employers are also offering the most generous paid parental leave policies, offering 12 weeks of paid parental leave – or more – to any employee with a new baby,” the report stated.

Why Deloitte tops the list

Deloitte offers 18 weeks’ paid leave to all new parents, and each employee can take the leave over a three-year period.

Deloitte’s national lead partner, inclusion, diversity and wellbeing, Margaret Dreyer, said the company was committed to inclusion “in all its forms”.

“We know that one powerful and effective way we can do this is by supporting our people with family caring responsibilities, regardless of their gender,” Dreyer said.

“We’ve made it clear that our policy is for all types of families including birth, adoptive, surrogate, foster and same-sex parents, as well as intentionally calling out to our Deloitte dads to encourage them to take extended parental leave.

“The removal of the primary and secondary carer labels in our policy helped immensely to remove the misconception that parental leave was only for women. We simply call it ‘parental leave’ and it’s available to both parents, regardless of gender or caring role.”

Telstra makes its debut

This year, Telstra made its debut after offering 16 weeks leave to new parents and shot straight to second place.

“We want every parent, regardless of gender, to be able to share caring responsibilities while maintaining their career,” said Telstra’s executive of transformation and people, Alex Badenoch.

Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.