You have the opportunity to change the lives of parents in construction.
Pregnancy and parental leave is the moment the industry loses women who could be leading it. Your role in what happens next is more significant than most managers realise.
Why this matters
The industry that builds it all. It's time to build for working parents.
Construction builds hospitals, schools, housing, infrastructure — the things communities need to thrive. But when the people who build those things start families of their own, too many find an industry that wasn't built to support them back.
Every woman who doesn't return from parental leave isn't just a retention statistic. She's a signal — to every other woman on your project, to every father who doesn't feel comfortable asking for flexibility, to every graduate weighing up whether this industry has a place for them.
50%
of women in construction do not return to work following parental leave.
Galea et al. (2018), as cited in NAWIC Parental Leave Research Literature Review
A note from the founder
Hi. I'm Sam. A mum in construction and the founder of Crib Shift.
Crib Shift exists because I kept seeing brilliant women in our industry — women who'd worked hard to get here, who deserved to be here, and who were making construction better and smarter — leave it after becoming mothers.
The research kept showing me the same solution. You're it. You get to be the person who changes this — at the most pivotal moment in a woman's working life.
I'm glad you're here. When you're ready, let's begin.
Samantha
Founder, Crib Shift
The First 1000 Days
You are not a factor. You are the factor.
Most of what determines whether a skilled woman stays in construction through the First 1000 Days — pregnancy, parental leave, and the two years after she comes back — doesn't happen in boardrooms or policy documents. It happens in the everyday decisions of the person running her team.
Whether she feels like her career still exists while she's on leave. Whether her crew is ready when she comes back. Whether someone noticed she was struggling before she'd already made up her mind.
The research keeps pointing to the same person: her direct manager. Which means the person with more influence over this than anyone else in her world isn't somewhere above you in the organisation. It's you — with the team you already have, in the decisions you're already making.
This toolkit was built for exactly that person. For you.
'The strongest single predictor of whether a woman stays with her employer after the birth of a child is the perception of support from their employer and direct manager.'
What is happening to mothers in construction — and why leaders are the turning point.
She is on your team right now. She is skilled, experienced, and genuinely invested in a construction career. She has probably navigated her fair share of being the only woman in the room — and she is still here. She has earned her place.
And when she tells you she is pregnant, the system is about to let her down. Not through dramatic events — but through silence, through assumptions made on her behalf, through a slow erosion of the things that made her want to stay. In most cases, her manager will not intend any of it. That is precisely the problem.
This section does not exist to apportion blame. It exists because the data is clear, the window is specific, and the person best placed to change the outcome is you. What follows is the full picture — in research, in numbers, and in the lived experience of women who have navigated this in construction.
That is precisely what this toolkit changes.
01
Section One
The Scale of the Problem
Construction has a retention problem — not a pipeline problem.
The industry has spent years and significant resources recruiting women. Campaigns, partnerships, scholarships, outreach. Yet women represent just 13% of the construction workforce in Australia — and that figure includes office-based roles. On-site, women remain a rare exception.
The most common exit point is not a dramatic incident. It is a quiet, predictable sequence — pregnancy, parental leave, and return to work. What this toolkit calls the First 1000 Days. And when a mother leaves construction, she rarely changes companies. She leaves the industry entirely. The pipeline does not have a leak at entry. It has a fracture in the middle.
36%
of women in construction experience pregnancy discrimination — the highest rate of any Australian industry. Not hospitality. Not mining. Construction.
NAWIC/Hamilton et al., 2025, University of Sydney
22.4%
are made redundant, restructured out, or have their contract not renewed around the time of parental leave.
NAWIC/Hamilton et al., 2025, University of Sydney
22%
of returning mothers had a structured re-entry plan. The rest return improvising — alone.
NAWIC/Hamilton et al., 2025, University of Sydney
91.8%
of women experienced discrimination during their return-to-work phase — the highest rate across all phases of the parental journey.
National Review, Potter et al., 2024, UniSA
60%+
of new mothers returning to work said their opinions were ignored, they felt excluded, and were given unmanageable workloads.
National Review, Potter et al., 2024, UniSA
31.8%
median gender pay gap in construction — one of the highest of any Australian industry. Men are 87% of the sector.
WGEA, 2024
These are not edge cases. They are structural patterns — playing out right now, on your projects, in your teams. When more than one in three pregnant women in construction experiences discrimination, this is not happening elsewhere. It is happening here. In a sector already in a critical skills shortage, this is not a diversity problem. It is a business-critical one.
Retention is not just cheaper than recruitment. It is the only sustainable path to gender balance in construction.
02
Section Two
Why This Is a Leadership Issue
Policies do not retain women. Leaders do.
Most companies point to their parental leave policy as evidence they are doing the right thing. Policies matter — but research is unequivocal: they are not what determines whether a woman stays.
68%
of working mums cited their manager and workplace culture as the biggest factor that can make their return to work experience easier or harder.
The Future of Working Motherhood Report, Executive Moms
"There wasn't really a framework or guidance. It just depended on who your manager was."
— Construction professional, NAWIC research
In research across the NSW construction industry, many women were the first person in their workplace ever to take parental leave. Their managers were not unsupportive — they were underprepared. They had no prior experience to draw from, no playbook, no model of what good leadership looked like in this moment.
The result was not discrimination by design. It was a leadership vacuum — and nature filled it with the default: silence, assumption, and drift. The consequences played out just the same.
What goes wrong — and when
The most damaging manager behaviours during this transition are rarely overt. They are quiet, gradual — and they compound:
Silence
Avoiding conversations about pregnancy or return because it feels awkward or legally risky. She reads this as: my manager doesn't know how to handle this. I should start planning my exit.
Assumptions
Deciding on her behalf that she won't want a challenging project, a promotion, or interstate travel — once pregnant or back from parental leave. Career decisions made for her, without her.
Invisibility
Failing to stay in contact during parental leave. More than 50% of women on parental leave were not told about workplace changes affecting their role. Out of sight becomes out of the pipeline.
Rigidity
Treating flexible working requests as personal accommodations rather than legitimate performance tools — flexibility on paper that doesn't translate into practice.
None of these require bad intent. They require only the absence of preparation. Leaders are not failing because they do not care. They are failing because no one has ever shown them what good looks like.
The numbers on the other side
40%
of mothers left a role or employer after having a baby due to lack of support.
Executive Moms, The Future of Working Motherhood, 2026
65%
of mothers who left their job did so within the first year post-return — the exact window this toolkit directly addresses.
Executive Moms, The Future of Working Motherhood, 2026
97%
said they would stay longer at a company that meaningfully supports working mothers. They are telling you what they need.
Executive Moms, The Future of Working Motherhood, 2026
Leadership during this transition is not about being perfect. It is about being present, proactive, and human. The window is specific. The tools exist. This toolkit gives you both.
03
Section Three
The First 1000 Days
Pregnancy, parental leave, and return to work are not a single event. They are a 1000-day journey.
Maternal attrition is rarely sudden. It accumulates — decision by decision, conversation by conversation, or the absence of them. Knowing where you are in this journey is what lets you act with precision instead of guesswork. Here is the shape of it.
Phase 01
Disclosure
Weeks 1–2 after telling you
The first response sets the tone for everything that follows. Trust is built — or broken — in this single moment. Silence or visible awkwardness is read as: my career is already being written off.
Phase 02
Pre-Parental Leave
Remaining months of pregnancy
Career sidelining begins — quietly, often with good intentions. Reduced scope, removed from key projects, excluded from decisions. She is watching what she is given, and what is taken away. 21.6% of pregnant women had their role altered without consent.
Phase 03
Parental Leave Period
While she is away
Out of sight, out of pipeline. More than 50% of women on parental leave are not informed of workplace changes that affect their role. The leader who stays in appropriate contact during this period is exceptional — and she will remember it.
Phase 04
Pre-Return
4–6 weeks before she comes back
Return is treated as a logistics exercise — the role is ready, but she is not. Anxiety about identity, childcare, and how she will be received is peaking. Almost one in five women returning from parental leave are refused flexible working requests.
Phase 05
First 90 Days Back
Return through the first three months
The highest-risk window for attrition. She is managing new childcare, sleep deprivation, identity shift, and performance pressure simultaneously. 91.8% of mothers experience discrimination at this stage. Small, visible acts of support now have outsized impact.
Phase 06
Stabilisation
3–24 months post-return
She is finding her rhythm — and recalibrating her ambitions. Leaders who invest in meaningful development conversations now keep her long-term. Retention without progression is not a win. It is a delayed exit.
Every leader decision in the First 1000 Days creates impact at three levels simultaneously: individual, institutional, and systemic. You are not neutral in this system. You are the system.
04
Section Four
The Real Cost of Losing Mothers
When a mother leaves construction, the loss is not a headcount number. It is a cascade.
Behind every departure is a woman who, at some point, genuinely wanted to stay. She brought years of experience, site knowledge, relationships, and hard-won credibility. When she goes, none of that transfers to a spreadsheet. The financial case is not complicated. Here is what it costs when she goes.
The financial cost
50–150%
of annual salary — the cost to replace a mid-level professional. For specialist or senior construction roles, this rises to 200% of salary. That includes recruitment, training, lost productivity, and knowledge transfer.
AHRI Employee Turnover Cost Data
$3.8B
lost annually across Australian businesses to employee turnover. Construction has one of the highest turnover rates of any sector at 21% per annum.
AHRI Employee Turnover Cost Data
53%
the gap in women's earnings behind men's in the first five years of parenthood. A 47% gap persists for the first ten years. Men's earnings are unaffected. Employers shape whether this compounds — or begins to reverse.
Bahar et al., 2023, Australian Treasury
Investing in manager training, structured re-entry plans, and genuine flexibility for returning mothers does not require an outsized budget. It requires intention, preparation, and follow-through. The return — in talent retained, knowledge preserved, and culture built — is measurable, significant, and compounding.
The case for change is not moral. It is mathematical. Construction cannot afford to keep losing women at the point they become mothers. The industry that learns to support this transition will not only retain talented professionals — it will become the employer of choice for the next generation of leaders.
"Every mother who stays shows another woman it is possible. Every leader who gets this right creates a precedent for the next team. What is good for mothers is good for fathers, for carers, and for the whole of construction."
Hamilton, M., Galea, N., Williams, A. & Hanna-Osborne, S. (2025). Building Better Workplaces: A Toolkit for Retaining Women Through Pregnancy, parental leave and return to Work in the NSW Construction Industry. University of Sydney / NAWIC.
Potter, R., Foley, K., Richter, S., Cleggett, S., Dollard, M., Parkin, A., Brough, P. & Lushington, K. (2024). National Review: Work Conditions & Discrimination among Pregnant & Parent Workers in Australia. University of South Australia (UniSA).
Executive Moms (2026). The Future of Working Motherhood 2026. Dallas, TX: Executive Moms.
Names four forces already operating in your team — so you can finally see what you've been looking at.
Three things to know before the concepts land
You can't interrupt what you can't name.
Most leadership failure here isn't intentional — it happens in the gap between good intentions and a missing framework. These four concepts close that gap.
One of these will feel uncomfortable.
The Maternal Wall is bias dressed as kindness — decisions made for women rather than with them. Most managers who've done this didn't know they were doing it.
The section doesn't end where you expect.
M4 reframes everything before it. The attrition risk is highest at the point of least capability loss. That changes what retention is actually worth.
The four concepts you're about to learn
If we don't name it, we don't change it. We don't fund it. We don't study it. We don't support it.
M1
Matrescence
The developmental transition into motherhood. It has a neuroscience behind it that changes how you assess performance.
M2
The Maternal Wall
Removing a project to reduce her stress. Assuming she won't want the promotion. That's the wall — and it usually comes from good intentions.
M3
The Motherhood Penalty
A structural lifetime earnings reset that starts in the First 1000 Days. Employers shape whether it compounds or begins to reverse.
M4
The Maternal Asset
The commercially valuable capability built through caregiving. It only pays back if she stays — and she's most at risk of leaving when she's least at risk of underperforming.
This week
One question
Which of these four forces is already operating in my team — and have I been seeing it clearly?
One shift
Pick one of the Four Ms. Use the word — even just internally — the next time you're watching a decision being made about someone on parental leave or recently back. Notice whether naming it changes what you see. That's the whole shift.
Four concepts every leader needs to understand before they can lead.
Three things to know before the concepts land
You can't interrupt what you can't name.
Most leadership failure here isn't intentional — it happens in the gap between good intentions and a missing framework. These four concepts close that gap.
One of these will feel uncomfortable.
The Maternal Wall is bias dressed as kindness — decisions made for women rather than with them. Most managers who've done this didn't know they were doing it.
The section doesn't end where you expect.
M4 reframes everything before it. The attrition risk is highest at the point of least capability loss. That changes what retention is actually worth.
The four concepts at a glance
If we don't name it, we don't change it. We don't fund it. We don't study it. We don't support it.
M1
Matrescence
The developmental transition into motherhood. It has a neuroscience behind it that changes how you assess performance.
M2
The Maternal Wall
Removing a project to reduce her stress. Assuming she won't want the promotion. That's the wall — and it usually comes from good intentions.
M3
The Motherhood Penalty
A structural lifetime earnings reset that starts in the First 1000 Days. Employers shape whether it compounds or begins to reverse.
M4
The Maternal Asset
The commercially valuable capability built through caregiving. It only pays back if she stays — and she's most at risk of leaving when she's least at risk of underperforming.
One question
Which of these four forces is already operating in my team — and have I been seeing it clearly?
One shift
Pick one of the Four Ms. Use the word — even just internally — the next time you're watching a decision being made about someone on parental leave or recently back. Notice whether naming it changes what you see. That's the whole shift.
Understanding the system you operate in changes how you operate within it. The four concepts in this section are not academic exercises — they are the invisible architecture that shapes every mother's experience in your workplace, including right now, on your current team.
Each of the Four Ms describes something real, measurable, and named. That naming is not incidental. It is the point. You cannot interrupt a pattern you cannot see. You cannot change a dynamic you have no language for. You cannot lead well through a transition that has never been explained to you.
Once you can see these four forces — once you can name them — you cannot unsee them. And that is where capable leadership becomes possible.
M 1
M1 — The First Concept
Matrescence
The life stage we never named
We have a word for adolescence. For menopause. For grief, for midlife, for retirement. We have entire industries of research, cultural frameworks, and institutional support built around every major human transition. Except one.
Matrescence — the developmental passage into motherhood — was coined in the 1970s by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael. It describes a transformation that is simultaneously hormonal, neurological, physical, psychological, and social. The word existed for fifty years before it appeared in the New York Times for the first time, in 2017.
The neuroscience — what is actually happening
Matrescence is not a metaphor. It is a documented neurodevelopmental period. Brain imaging studies show that pregnancy produces structural changes to grey matter that are morphologically comparable to those observed during adolescence. The same hormones that surge through an adolescent flood the maternal brain during pregnancy, driving changes to mood, memory, social cognition, and perception. This is not an illness. It is not a deficit. It is a brain being reorganised for a new and enormously complex task.
80%
of new mothers report significant cognitive and emotional changes during the transition to motherhood — yet most have no language to describe what they are experiencing.
Orchard et al., Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2023
Matrescence and adolescence — the parallel no one applies
The comparison to adolescence is clinically grounded — and socially revealing. Society has built entire support structures around the awkwardness of adolescence. The parallel holds scientifically. It does not hold culturally.
What we accept about adolescence
What we expect from matrescence
A developmental transition, not a dysfunction
Normal performance, from day one of return
Hormonal shifts as a recognised explanation for behaviour
Hormonal changes — but happiness and productivity are assumed
Brain restructuring as a reason for support
Adapting brain — but assessed against pre-change baseline
New identity forming — patience while it settles
Identity disruption — but the 'old self' is expected back immediately
Society adjusts; the individual is not expected to simply push through
The individual is expected to push through — alone
"The lived experiences of women go unspoken until the zeitgeist is ready to thunder."
— Dr Alexandra Sacks
If you use the word matrescence in a return-to-work conversation, you do something simple but powerful: you name the transition the woman in front of you is moving through. That naming creates permission to talk about it. That permission is itself a form of support.
M 2
M2 — The Second Concept
The Maternal Wall
Bias dressed up as kindness
While some women press their nose against the glass ceiling — many mothers never get near it. What stops them is the maternal wall.
Named by legal scholar Joan Williams in 2004, the maternal wall describes the discrimination and bias that working mothers — and even women perceived as future mothers — face in the workplace. It is triggered not by gender alone, but specifically by pregnancy, parenthood, or even the assumption of future pregnancy.
79%
less likely to be hired than equally qualified women without children — when the only difference on the resume is motherhood.
Correll, Benard & Paik, 2007, American Journal of Sociology
$11K
less offered in starting salary to mothers compared to equally qualified women without children — in the same hiring round.
Correll, Benard & Paik, 2007, American Journal of Sociology
24%
of women exit the labour market in their first year of motherhood. Five years later, 15% are still absent. The wall has a long shadow.
Child Penalty Atlas, Kleven et al., 2023
A manager who quietly removes travel from a new mother's role believes he is being supportive. He is, in fact, making career decisions on her behalf — without asking, without consulting, and without her consent. That is the maternal wall in practice: not malice, not intention. Assumption — and the action it produces.
How the maternal wall shows up — at every stage
Maybe Baby Bias
Employers offer less favourable contracts, fewer benefits, and more temporary roles to young childless women — simply because they are assumed to be pre-motherhood.
At Disclosure
Competence is doubted from the moment of announcement. Responsibilities are quietly reduced, framed as protection. She reads this as: my career is already being written off.
During Pregnancy
Removed from leadership-track projects without being asked. Expected to overperform to prove she is still committed. The bar rises as the support reduces.
On Parental Leave
Excluded from performance review cycles and bonus consideration. Not consulted on role changes. The professional world moves without her — and on return, she finds the landscape has shifted.
On Return
Assigned less interesting work. Considered unsuitable for management. Career advancement stalled — sometimes permanently, without anyone acknowledging it happened.
If She Succeeds
Highly successful mothers face a 'dominance penalty': rated as less warm and likeable when they demonstrate competence and ambition. Penalised in salary and promotion for it.
What you can do — starting now
Ask Before Removing
Before reducing scope, removing travel, or changing responsibility — ask. "I want to make sure we're setting you up well. What would actually help you right now?"
Sponsor, Don't Just Support
Emotional support is necessary but insufficient. Active career sponsorship — advocating for her in rooms she is not in — is what counters the invisible forces working against her progression.
Audit Your Assumptions
Who are you not putting forward for the next project because you have decided they are not ready? Who have you mentally moved to a slower track? Is that their decision — or yours?
Name It With Your Team
When managers and teams can name the maternal wall, they gain language to interrupt it. Awareness of a cognitive shortcut is itself a partial corrective to that shortcut.
M 3
M3 — The Third Concept
The Motherhood Penalty
The earnings reset no one asked for
Before children, men and women in Australia track relatively similarly in earnings. After children, trajectories diverge sharply — and never fully reconverge.
Australia holds the number-one global ranking for women's educational attainment. Women in Australia enter the workforce at higher rates than women in many of the world's most gender-equal nations — including Sweden. Then motherhood arrives. And the trajectory changes.
70th
Australia's ranking for women's economic participation — down from 12th in 2006. The world's best-educated female workforce participates at one of the lowest rates among developed nations. The drop happens at motherhood.
Back of the Pack Report, The Parenthood / Equity Economics, 2021
What the penalty actually looks like across a lifetime
$696K
additional lifetime earnings the average Australian woman would accumulate if she had the same post-child workforce participation as the average Swedish mother.
Back of the Pack, The Parenthood / Equity Economics, 2021
$180K
additional superannuation she would retire with under those same conditions — more than the current average total super balance of Australian women aged 50–54.
Back of the Pack, The Parenthood / Equity Economics, 2021
28.2pp
lower workforce participation for mothers compared to fathers when the youngest child is aged 0–5. This participation gap drives the earnings gap — not capability.
Back of the Pack, The Parenthood / Equity Economics, 2021
Australian Treasury research is clear: the earnings gap is not primarily caused by immediate wage discrimination. It is caused by reduced workforce participation, fewer working hours, increased part-time work, and slower career progression — all driven by the structural conditions mothers face on return.
You are the intervention. The conditions you create — or fail to create — during the First 1000 Days determine whether the penalty compounds on your watch, or begins to reverse.
M 4
M4 — The Fourth Concept
The Maternal Asset
The capability you already paid for
Everything you have read in M1, M2, and M3 describes forces working against mothers in the workplace. This section describes the force working the other way — and why that asset only delivers if she stays.
What the research does not show is any evidence of reduced cognitive capability or lower output quality within working hours. The penalty is about hours and participation. Not performance. Inside working hours, something different — and commercially significant — tends to happen.
What caregiving builds at work
Prioritisation under severe time constraints
→ Strategic focus and output discipline
Task-switching across radically competing demands
→ Attention management and cognitive flexibility
Emotional regulation under sustained fatigue
→ Inhibitory control and composure under pressure
Risk anticipation and safety scanning
→ Decision speed and risk management in complex environments
Long-range planning with incomplete information
→ Resilience and scenario planning under uncertainty
These are not soft skills. They are the performance drivers that determine success in complex environments. They are, notably, exactly the capabilities that construction environments require.
You are not managing diminished employees. You are managing employees in the middle of a genuine neurodevelopmental transition — one that is simultaneously the highest-risk window for attrition and the lowest-risk window for actual capability loss. Retention at this moment is not charity. It is strategy.
The Four Ms — At a Glance
Four forces. One transition. One leader who makes the difference.
Summary — what it is, why it matters, what you do with it
M1
Matrescence
The developmental transition into motherhood. Hormonal, neurological, physical, psychological, and social all at once.
Without a name, there is no framework. Without a framework, there is no support — only expectation.
Name the transition. Use the word. Do not assess her against her pre-pregnancy baseline.
M2
The Maternal Wall
Bias triggered by pregnancy, parenthood, or even the assumption of future pregnancy. Usually comes from good intentions.
The bias operates before she is even a mother. It shapes hiring, scope, promotion, and sponsorship decisions — invisibly, unless named.
Ask before removing. Consult before reducing scope. Never make career decisions for a mother without her participation.
M3
The Motherhood Penalty
The structural earnings reset that follows children. Australia ranks 1st in education and 70th in post-child participation.
The penalty is driven by participation and hours — not capability. Flexible roles without structural redesign can entrench it.
Flexibility alone is not enough. Active career investment — promotion, review, sponsorship — is what prevents the penalty compounding.
M4
The Maternal Asset
The commercially valuable capability built through caregiving: executive function, output focus, risk anticipation, emotional regulation.
The attrition risk is highest at the point of least capability decline. You have already invested years building this person.
Retention without progression is a longer exit. Invest actively in her trajectory — not just her return.
Every mother who stays shows another woman it is possible. Every manager who leads well through this transition creates precedent for the next team. What is good for mothers is good for fathers, good for carers, and good for construction.
Orchard, E.R., Rutherford, H.J.V., Holmes, A.J. & Jamadar, S.D. (2023). Matrescence: lifetime impact of motherhood on cognition and the brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(3), 302–316.
Carmona, S. et al. (2019). Pregnancy and adolescence entail similar neuroanatomical adaptations. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 2143–2152.
de Lange, A.G. et al. (2019). Women's brain aging: Effects of sex-chromosome complement and reproductive-related hormones. PNAS, 116(25), 12251–12258.
Williams, J.C. (2004, October). The maternal wall. Harvard Business Review.
Correll, S.J., Benard, S. & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297–1338.
Kleven, H. et al. (2023). Child Penalties Across Countries: Evidence and Explanations. Child Penalty Atlas.
Bahar, E. et al. (2023). Children and the Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence for Australia. Australian Treasury.
The Parenthood / Equity Economics (2021). Back of the Pack: How Australia's Parenting Policies are Failing Women and Our Economy.
Hamilton, M., Galea, N., Williams, A. & Hanna-Osborne, S. (2025). Building Better Workplaces. University of Sydney / NAWIC.
Why supporting fathers is essential — for families, for equity, and for a construction industry that works for everyone.
This toolkit began with mothers. It had to. But this program was never only about mothers. The decisions that drive women out of construction — the assumptions, the norms, the invisible penalties — are the same decisions that limit fathers too. Supporting mothers is good leadership. Supporting fathers completes the picture.
The Fatherhood Gap
What fathers in construction are experiencing
Men are experiencing this transition too — and the system is not built for them either.
When a baby arrives, fatherhood is treated as a side note. In most workplaces, the standard response to a man announcing his partner's pregnancy is a handshake and a joke. The profound identity shift he is about to undergo is invisible. This isn't just a personal oversight. It is a structural one.
3 weeks
Average paid paternity leave in half of countries with any paternity parental leave at all.
ILO
<half
of fathers take the full amount of parental leave they are entitled to, globally.
Promundo, 2019
77%
of partnered Australian fathers are in full-time work — the same rate as before having children.
ABS Census 2016
4–6%
of couple fathers in Australia work part-time to care for children — despite being legally entitled to request it.
LSAC research
46%
of Australian fathers report feeling always or often rushed or pressed for time.
LSAC research
When fathers carry work-family conflict, children carry it too. Fathers who had persistent high work–family conflict showed the worst outcomes across all domains — for themselves, their partners, and their children. When fathers were able to move out of work–family conflict, mental health improved for themselves AND their children.
Dinh et al., LSAC 2017 — 10-year longitudinal study of 2,496 fathers
The Four Fs
Four things every leader needs to understand about fathers
The same system that limits mothers limits fathers. The same leadership changes both.
F1
F1 — The First Concept
Patrescence
The transition into fatherhood that no one names
▼
What it is
The developmental transition into fatherhood — neurological, hormonal, psychological and social. Research shows fathers experience real hormonal changes (increased oxytocin, decreased testosterone) when actively caregiving. This transformation is real. It is unnamed. And without a name, it receives no support.
Why it matters
Fathers cannot process a transition they cannot name. In the absence of language, they default to the only available script: show up, provide, say nothing. This silence benefits no one — not fathers, not their partners, not their children.
What leaders do
Use the word patrescence. Ask your team members how the transition is going. Create permission to talk about it. Don't assume a quiet father is a fine father.
F2
F2 — The Second Concept
The Paternity Wall
The professional cost of being a present father
▼
What it is
Fathers who take parental leave, request flexible hours, or visibly prioritise parenting face workplace stigma. They are seen as less committed, less promotable, less serious. Research consistently shows that men who prioritise caregiving face professional penalties that parallel those experienced by mothers — just less discussed.
Why it matters
Fathers fear workplace stigma if they balance childcare and professional responsibilities. Many managers are the first obstacle, not the system — because they have internalised norms that say visible caregiving is a professional liability for men.
What leaders do
Model it. If you are a parent, be visible about it without apology. When a father takes parental leave or adjusts his hours, treat it as normal and professional — because it is. The tone you set determines what fathers on your team believe is safe.
F3
F3 — The Third Concept
The Fatherhood Dividend
The family-wide return on involved fathers
▼
What it is
When fathers are actively involved in early childhood, the returns are measurable and significant: better cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes for children, reduced maternal stress, lower rates of postpartum depression in mothers, more equitable division of domestic labour, and stronger couple relationships.
Why it matters
Father involvement isn't just good for fathers — it is a protective factor for the entire family. Mothers who feel supported by fathers parent more positively and have higher life satisfaction. Children with involved fathers show improved peer relations, higher self-esteem and lower rates of depression.
What leaders do
Frame paternity leave not as a cost or a favour — but as an investment with returns across the whole family unit. The family wellbeing dividend is also a workplace productivity dividend. Stable, supported families produce more focused, present employees.
F4
F4 — The Fourth Concept
The Intergenerational Cycle
What children learn from watching their fathers
▼
What it is
Children's future relationships are shaped profoundly by what they witness at home. Boys who see their fathers involved in unpaid care work are significantly more likely to be involved carers as adults. Girls whose fathers model equitable relationships are more likely to have ambitious career aspirations.
Why it matters
Every father who is enabled — or prevented — from being present at home is teaching the next generation what is normal. Managers who support fathers are contributing to gender equity across generations, not just in their teams.
What leaders do
Every time you support a father's involvement, you are writing a script that his children will carry forward. That is a profound kind of leadership. Name it. Own it.
The Both/And Case
What is good for mothers will be good for fathers
There is sometimes an assumption that supporting mothers and fathers are in competition. The evidence says otherwise.
The structural changes that help mothers return to work, progress their careers, and stay in construction are the same structural changes that give fathers permission to be present. Flexible work. Normalised parental leave. Managers who ask rather than assume. Teams where parenthood is treated as a phase of life, not a professional liability.
When mothers are supported at work
Fathers have more permission to share the load at home. The division of domestic labour becomes more equitable. Both parents benefit.
When fathers take parental leave and are present
Mothers return to work with more support. Postpartum depression rates fall. Family stress reduces. Children thrive.
When workplace culture normalises caregiving for men
The stigma around parental leave for both mothers AND fathers reduces. Everyone gains access to the same workplace flexibility.
When fathers model equitable caregiving
Their daughters aspire higher. Their sons engage more. The next generation enters the workforce with different expectations.
The How
What this looks like in practice
Concrete actions that support fathers — and strengthen the whole team.
Normalise paternity leave
Treat paternity leave as a normal professional event, not an exception. Ask when a team member is becoming a father, acknowledge the transition, and have a plan in place. The silence around fatherhood is not neutral — it is a message.
Watch for the Paternity Wall
If a father on your team takes parental leave and comes back to reduced opportunity, watch how the team responds. Stigma around male caregiving is real and often unspoken. Interrupt it with your own behaviour.
Make flexibility structural
A father who has to individually negotiate every school drop-off is in a precarious position. Build flexibility into team culture so that any parent — regardless of gender — can use it without career risk.
Ask the question you'd ask a mother
If you'd ask a returning mother how her transition is going, ask a returning father the same question. The transition is real for both. The care you extend should be consistent.
Model it if you can
If you are a parent, visibility matters. Being open about leaving on time for family, about taking your parental leave, about the reality of parenting, gives others permission. You don't have to share details. You just have to not hide it.
"Helping fathers get off to a good start when children are born will pay dividends later on, as patterns established early persist."
— Baxter & Smart, Fathering in Australia Among Couple Families With Young Children, AIFS
Every father you support shows another man it's possible. Every mother you retain proves that construction can work for families. This is the industry we're building. Let's build it together.
Baxter, J. & Smart, D. (2011, 2018). Fathering in Australia Among Couple Families With Young Children. AIFS.
Dinh, H., Cooklin, A.R., Leach, L.S., Westrupp, E.M., Nicholson, J.M. & Strazdins, L. (2017). Parents' transitions into and out of work-family conflict and children's mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 194, 148–158. [LSAC 10-year longitudinal study]
Promundo (2019). State of the World's Fathers. Washington DC: Promundo-US.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Census of Population and Housing, 2016.
The CARE Framework and Leadership Arc are the thinking. The tools are the doing. Here's how it all fits together — and where to find what you need.
Jump to a phase — where is your team member right now?
The CARE Framework — four pillars, one continuous journey
C · Connect with Courage
Build trust before you need it. Initiate — don't wait.
A · Address Assumptions
Interrupt bias before it shapes a career decision.
R · Redesign the Environment
Make the site work for the people actually on it.
E · Elevate
Return is the beginning, not the catch-up. Invest in what comes next.
Crib Shift · CARE Aware Leadership Toolkit
The CARE Arc — tools mapped to the journey
Every tool at the phase where it matters most. Organised by how it's used: one-to-one with her, with your team, or at a project and site level. Read left to right — disclosure through stabilisation at 24 months.
Three levels, one system — built for site, not a seminar room
Change doesn't just happen at one level — with small, consistent practices, shifts can happen across our entire industry. Pick up any tool across the three layers of influence, knowing exactly where it operates and why it matters.
A capability framework for construction leaders. Not a policy. Not a checklist. A description of what good leadership looks and sounds like in practice.
C
Connect with Courage
Build the relationship where truth can be told.
Most active: Phases 01 · 02 · 03
A
Address Assumptions
Interrupt bias before it shapes a career.
Most active: Phases 02 · 03 · 06
R
Redesign the Environment
Make the site work for the people actually on it.
Most active: Phases 01 · 04 · 05
E
Elevate
Return is the beginning, not the catch-up.
Most active: Phases 05 · 06
Each capability is described below with observable behaviours — what you would and would not expect to see from a leader who has built it.
How to use this framework
For yourself
Read the capability definition. Be honest. Pick one behaviour to change this month. Come back in 90 days and check.
With your team
Use the Would / Would Not Expect to See behaviours in team conversations. Ask: which of these do we do consistently? Which do we quietly avoid?
In performance conversations
Reference the framework when giving feedback on leadership behaviour — not just what was delivered, but how people were led through the parental leave journey.
Into action
Each capability below links directly to the tools built to support it. Read the behaviours, identify the gap, open the tool.
If you have a relationship with someone going through pregnancy, parental leave or return to work — this framework is for you. The person closest to the situation carries the most responsibility. That's the point.
C
Pillar One · Most active: Phases 01, 02, 03
Connect with Courage
Build the relationship where truth can be told.
A leader who CONNECTs with Courage creates the conditions where a parent can tell the truth about what they need — and trust it won't be used against them. They initiate the conversations others avoid, stay present across the full parental leave journey, and treat every interaction as a chance to build or break trust.
Research shows that the quality of the relationship with a direct manager at the point of disclosure is one of the strongest predictors of whether a woman returns from parental leave at all. CONNECT is the foundation. Without it, nothing else in this framework works.
✓ Would expect to see
Reacts to a pregnancy disclosure with warmth — before logistics
Schedules a structured planning conversation within two weeks of disclosure
Agrees a communication plan before the employee goes on parental leave
Proactively tells them about anything that affects their role while on parental leave
Holds a pre-return conversation at least four weeks before they come back
Has an honest career conversation before parental leave starts
Includes returning parents in forward conversations and succession planning from day one back
✗ Would not expect to see
Waits for the employee to make contact during parental leave and reads silence as contentment
Treats parental leave as an absence to manage, not a transition to support
Tells them about major role changes after the fact — or not at all
Confuses a handover conversation with a support conversation
Assumes HR or someone else is across the transition without checking
Tools for this capability
A
Pillar Two · Most active: Phases 02, 03, 06
Address Assumptions
Interrupt bias before it shapes a career.
A leader who ADDRESSes Assumptions catches the decisions they didn't know they were making — and changes them. They pause before talent calls, consult before changing role scope, and create an environment where others feel safe to raise concerns too.
Bias in construction isn't always intentional. It lives in decisions made at speed: who gets the stretch project, who's 'not ready yet', who was quietly passed over while on parental leave. You don't have to be discriminatory to make a biased decision. You just have to be busy.
✓ Would expect to see
Knows what is legally prohibited — removing someone from a project without their request, excluding them from pay reviews, changing role scope without documented reason
Flags team members on parental leave to HR for inclusion in performance, pay and bonus cycles
Keeps employees on leadership-track projects when they disclose — unless they choose otherwise
Pauses before any talent decision and asks: would I make this same call if they hadn't taken parental leave?
Puts forward team members within two years of returning from parental leave and ready for more
Speaks up in talent and succession discussions when assumptions are being made based on parental status
✗ Would not expect to see
Assumes someone on parental leave is 'out of the running' for stretch opportunities
Makes role changes during pregnancy without consulting the employee first
Treats flexibility as a favour they're lucky to receive, not an entitlement they can rely on
Uses parental leave as justification for a lower performance rating
Accepts 'not quite ready' or 'the timing isn't right' without examining whether parental leave influenced the assessment
Tools for this capability
R
Pillar Three · Most active: Phases 01, 04, 05
Redesign the Environment
Make the site work for the people actually on it.
A leader who REDESIGNs the Environment makes the physical site and the structure of roles actually work for people with caring responsibilities. A policy that says 'we support flexible work' means nothing on a site with no clean toilet, a uniform that doesn't fit, and a project schedule that didn't account for parental leave.
Under Australian WHS legislation, leaders carry a direct duty of care. This pillar is both the right thing and the legal thing.
✓ Would expect to see
Initiates a WHS risk conversation within two weeks of disclosure — reviews physical demands, documents what will be monitored
Has personally checked that clean, private, lockable toilets and appropriate amenities are accessible on site
Arranges a private, hygienic space for breastfeeding or expressing before the employee's first day back
Makes sure PPE and workwear actually fits — during pregnancy and postnatally
Builds the return-to-work plan around physical recovery and fatigue, not just hours and duties
Builds parental leave coverage into the project plan before it starts
Has actually redesigned at least one role for part-time or flexible delivery
✗ Would not expect to see
Waits for a formal complaint before addressing site amenity issues
Assumes the employee will raise any WHS concerns themselves
Treats the WHS risk assessment as a one-off form rather than an ongoing responsibility
Signs off return-to-work plans without checking whether physical reintegration has been addressed
Accepts 'that's just how construction works' as an answer to inflexible rosters or unsustainable hours
Tools for this capability
E
Pillar Four · Most active: Phases 05, 06
Elevate
Invest in their career. Return is the beginning, not the catch-up.
A leader who ELEVATEs doesn't just support parents through parental leave — they actively invest in career progression on return. They know the difference between mentoring (giving advice) and sponsorship (using influence) — and they know which one is needed.
Retention without progression is just a longer exit. The 12 months after returning from parental leave is the highest-risk window for a parent's career — not because of a crisis, but because nothing is happening.
✓ Would expect to see
Builds a return-to-work plan that connects duties to career goals — not just a task list or hours arrangement
Flags the returning employee to the relevant people for the next promotion and pay review cycle — no informal waiting period
Revisits career goals and progression pathways within six months of return — initiates it, doesn't wait
Actively sponsors returning parents for at least 12 months — puts their name forward and uses influence on their behalf
Raises phased return as an option before the employee has to ask for it
Holds themselves accountable for where people end up within two years of returning
✗ Would not expect to see
Treats return from parental leave as a logistics exercise rather than a career moment
Waits for the employee to drive the career conversation rather than initiating it
Assumes they'll need time to 'get back up to speed' before being considered for stretch opportunities
Confuses mentoring (giving advice) with sponsorship (using influence on their behalf) — and stops at mentoring
Measures retention as success when people stay — without checking whether they're advancing
Six phases. One continuous journey. This is what leadership looks like in practice.
The Arc begins at disclosure, the moment the manager enters the picture. From that point, every parent's journey follows a predictable sequence. So does the leadership failure that drives her out.
Most leadership frameworks stop at return. This one doesn't — because the data doesn't. The 12 to 24 month window is when the majority of maternal exits occur, not in the weeks after coming back from parental leave, but quietly, in the second year, when support has wound down and careers have stalled.
At each phase, the Arc tells you which CARE pillar is most critical, what the specific leadership risk is, what to do, what not to do, and what it costs to get it wrong.
Select any phase to explore it
◎
Select any phase from the arc above to see what great leadership looks like — and what's at stake.
The six phases — full detail
01
Week 0–2 · PRIMARY PILLAR: CONNECT
Disclosure
Trust is built or destroyed in this conversation. There is no neutral.
▼
The truth about this phase
Most managers underreact to protect themselves from saying the wrong thing. She reads that as indifference. Some overreact — immediately jumping to logistics, handover, backfill — and she reads that as the organisation's priorities being made clear. What she needs in this moment is not a plan. It is a person.
✓ What to do
Lead with warmth. Congratulate her before you ask anything practical.
Schedule a planning meeting within two weeks — don't wing it.
Ask what she needs right now, not what you assume she needs.
Clarify any immediate WHS considerations — today, not later.
Explicitly acknowledge this is a significant life transition, not just an admin event.
Agree when your next conversation will be before she leaves the room.
✗ What not to do
Launch into parental leave dates, handover plans or backfill before you've checked in on her.
Say 'let me know if you need anything' and leave it at that.
Tell other team members before she's ready.
Assume she knows her entitlements — most don't.
⚠ If you get this wrong
Psychological withdrawal begins here. She stops telling you what she actually needs. By the time the problems surface, they're structural — and expensive to reverse.
✓ If you get this right
She enters the Parental Leave Period trusting you. That trust is the single most powerful retention factor you have — and it costs nothing to build.
Act on this phase
02
Months before · PRIMARY PILLARS: CONNECT + ADDRESS
Pre-Parental Leave
Career sidelining happens quietly, with good intentions.
▼
The truth about this phase
Nobody decides to disadvantage her. The stretch project gets quietly reassigned because it feels kinder. The promotion conversation gets deferred because the timing seems awkward. Decision by decision, with the best of intentions, her career trajectory shifts — and she notices every single one.
✓ What to do
Have an explicit conversation about her career trajectory before she goes — not after she returns.
Confirm she will remain in the next performance and promotion cycle.
Document her communication preferences during parental leave.
Nominate a senior point of contact — someone with real influence, not just goodwill.
Challenge any assumption that she should step back from leadership-track work because she's pregnant.
✗ What not to do
Reassign her to lower-visibility work to 'reduce her stress' — without asking her.
Defer her performance review or exclude her from a pay cycle because parental leave is coming.
Assume she wants less contact during parental leave.
Treat handover as the primary goal of pre-leave conversations.
⚠ If you get this wrong
She goes on parental leave already behind. Sidelining during pregnancy is one of the strongest predictors of post-return attrition — the damage is done before she's even gone.
✓ If you get this right
She goes on parental leave knowing her career is protected. That changes everything about how she comes back — and whether she comes back at all.
Act on this phase
03
While away · PRIMARY PILLARS: CONNECT + ADDRESS
Parental Leave Period
Invisibility becomes structural. Out of sight, out of the succession plan.
▼
The truth about this phase
Organisations don't intend to forget women on parental leave. They just do. Rosters are built, promotions are decided, teams are restructured — and she finds out on her first day back. The silence that feels neutral to the organisation feels like abandonment to her.
✓ What to do
Follow the communication plan she agreed to — don't improvise.
Proactively tell her about anything that affects her role: restructures, pay cycles, team changes, opportunities.
Include her in performance and pay review cycles, even if she won't be back to act on them immediately.
Use keeping-in-touch days for genuine connection or skills continuity — not to cover operational gaps.
Brief your own manager on her status and career goals so she is not invisible upwards.
✗ What not to do
Wait for her to make contact and interpret silence as contentment.
Use keeping-in-touch days to manage workload pressure.
Allow major decisions about her role, pay or team to be made without informing her.
Assume that because she's not complaining, everything is fine.
⚠ If you get this wrong
She returns to find her role changed, her relationships stale, and her confidence already eroded — before she's walked through the door.
✓ If you get this right
She returns informed, connected and already thinking about what she wants to do next. The return conversation effectively starts six months early.
Act on this phase
04
4–6 weeks out · PRIMARY PILLARS: CONNECT + REDESIGN
Pre-Return
Return becomes a logistics exercise. The role is waiting. She is not.
▼
The truth about this phase
Most return-to-work conversations focus on start date, hours and duties. Almost none address physical recovery, confidence, or what she actually needs to succeed in the first 90 days. The role hasn't changed. She has. The plan needs to account for the person who's coming back from parental leave, not the person who left.
✓ What to do
Hold a structured pre-return conversation four to six weeks out — not the week before.
Ask how she's feeling about coming back from parental leave, not just what hours she wants to work.
Review the physical demands of her role and plan gradual reintegration.
Plan her first week deliberately: who she'll reconnect with, what she'll work on, what she won't be expected to carry yet.
Discuss flexibility — hours, location, compressed weeks — as a practical conversation, not a request she has to justify.
✗ What not to do
Send a 'see you Monday' message as the only pre-return communication.
Expect her to return to full capacity in week one.
Treat the return-to-work plan as a form to complete rather than a conversation to have.
Leave physical amenity or WHS considerations unaddressed until she raises them.
⚠ If you get this wrong
Burnout risk peaks in the first 90 days post-return. Most of it is entirely preventable with planning that takes 60 minutes.
✓ If you get this right
She returns with a plan, not just a date. The first three months become a period of building momentum, not surviving.
Act on this phase
05
0–3 months back · PRIMARY PILLARS: REDESIGN + ELEVATE
Return
Confidence dip meets stalled visibility. This is when most women quietly decide to exit the industry.
▼
The truth about this phase
She is doing two full-time jobs. Her cognitive load is higher than it has ever been. She looks capable — because she is. She will not tell you she's struggling unless you ask directly. Meanwhile, if she's not visible on the right projects, in the right rooms, with the right people, her career is quietly stalling while she's busy just staying afloat.
✓ What to do
Phase her workload deliberately in weeks one to four — she should not be at full capacity on day one.
Have an explicit check-in at three months: how is this actually going.
Offer skills refresh, re-onboarding or access to training, especially if systems or teams have changed.
Connect her to visible, high-value work within the first 90 days — invisible work compounds invisibility.
Monitor her hours — returning mothers often overwork to prove themselves.
Actively introduce her to clients, projects and senior stakeholders as someone who is progressing.
✗ What not to do
Assume she's fine because she says she's fine.
Wait for her to raise concerns about workload, burnout or career direction.
Fill her calendar to demonstrate she hasn't missed anything.
Allow flexibility stigma to creep in — late starts commented on, early finishes noted.
⚠ If you get this wrong
Silent attrition. She performs adequately, tells no one she's struggling, and is gone within 12 months. Her exit survey says 'personal reasons.' Nobody connects her departure to what happened — or didn't happen — in these first three months.
✓ If you get this right
She gets through the first 90 days with her confidence intact and her career trajectory visible. Retention from this point increases sharply — but only if Phase 06 follows.
Act on this phase
06
3–24 months post-return · PRIMARY PILLAR: ELEVATE
Stabilisation
Retention without progression. She stays — but she's going nowhere. And she knows it.
▼
The truth about this phase
This is the phase most organisations forget entirely — and most leadership frameworks stop before they reach it. She returned. She's managing. The support that existed during the transition has quietly wound down. But the 12 to 24 month window is when the majority of maternal exits actually occur. Not because of a crisis. Because nothing is happening for her career, and she has quietly done the calculation.
✓ What to do
Include her in the next promotion cycle — no qualifying wait period, no 'let's see how she settles in.'
Actively advocate for her in rooms she is not in — sponsorship, not just mentoring.
Review her pay: parental leave creates pay gaps, and closing them is both legal and ethical practice.
Track her progression alongside the rest of the team — if she's not advancing, name it and address it.
Check in on career goals at 12 months and again at 18 months.
Give her access to networks and development that match her actual ambition, not your assumptions about it.
✗ What not to do
Reduce support because she seems to be 'back to normal.'
Conflate staying with thriving — they are not the same thing.
Allow her flexibility arrangement to quietly erode under project pressure.
Mentor her without sponsoring her — advice without advocacy does not move careers.
Measure your own success by the fact that she's still there, without asking where she's headed.
⚠ If you get this wrong
She exits at 18 months. Her replacement costs upward of $200,000. Her institutional knowledge, her client relationships, her institutional memory — gone. And no one connects her departure to what didn't happen in the two years after she came back.
✓ If you get this right
She is promoted. Her career trajectory is visible to every other woman on your site who is watching — and they are always watching — to see what happens to mothers here. Retention compounds. Culture shifts.
Act on this phase
Arc at a glance — quick reference
Phase
Pillar
The risk
Without support
With support
01 Disclosure Week 0–2
C
Trust is built or destroyed. There is no neutral.
Psychological withdrawal begins. Problems become structural.
She enters the journey trusting you. Most powerful retention factor you have.
02 Pre-Leave Months before
C+A
Career sidelining with good intentions.
She leaves already behind. Damage done before she goes.
She leaves knowing her career is protected. Changes how she comes back.
03 Parental Leave Period While away
C+A
Invisibility becomes structural.
She returns to a changed landscape and eroded confidence.
She returns informed, connected, ready. Return conversation starts six months early.
04 Pre-Return 4–6 weeks out
C+R
Return is a logistics exercise.
Burnout risk peaks. Preventable with 60 minutes of planning.
She returns with a plan. First 90 days: momentum, not survival.
The first conversation after disclosure sets the tone for everything that follows — and you don't get a second chance at it.
⏱
This takes
30 minutes and a structured conversation
★
You build
A team member who trusts you enough to tell you what she actually needs — now and throughout her parental leave
KNOW
Read this before you walk in
👤
Respond to the person before you respond to the situation. She is reading your reaction before you say a word.
⚖️
From the moment of disclosure, you carry a legal WHS duty of care. This conversation starts that process.
📅
What you do in the next two weeks sets the standard for the next 12 months.
DO
Four steps, in order
Work through these in sequence. Do not reorder.
1
Open with warmth — before anything else
Acknowledge the news as a person, not a logistics challenge. Don't move to plans until she's been heard.
SAY THIS
"Thanks for telling me. Before we get into anything practical — how are you feeling about it all?"
Then stop. Listen. Don't fill the silence.
2
Risk scan — your WHS responsibility starts now
Ask directly about the physical demands of her role. Document what she tells you.
SAY THIS
"Walk me through a typical day. Are there parts of the work you're already thinking about as the pregnancy progresses?"
Schedule a formal WHS review within two weeks. Don't wait for her to raise it — that's your job, not hers.
3
Plan the next 90 days together
Ask two questions. Write down the answers. Her career didn't pause when she told you.
ASK BOTH
"What do you need from me in the coming months to make this work well?"
"Are there any projects or opportunities you want to make sure still happen before your parental leave?"
4
Bias check — before you close
Before you end the conversation, pause and ask yourself:
CHECK YOURSELF
"Am I treating this the same way I would any other significant life event for someone on my team?"
Close with something specific — not a vague "we'll sort it out."
"I'll send a calendar invite for our planning session this week. I want us to get ahead of this properly."
Steps completed: 0 of 4
COMMIT
One action. Before her next working day.
The one thing I will do before this employee's next working day:
My commitment by
TOOL 02 OF 08
C · Connect with Courage
Phase 02 — parental leave planning
Leave Communication Plan
Complete this template together before parental leave begins. Both parties keep a copy. File with HR.
⏱
This takes
30 minutes and an honest conversation before parental leave begins
★
You build
A team member who comes back updated, connected, and career-ready — and a relationship built on trust
KNOW
Why this conversation matters
📊
Women who stay connected to their team during parental leave return more engaged and are significantly less likely to resign.
🤝
A simple, agreed plan removes ambiguity for both of you — so she stays connected on her terms, not by chance.
⚖️
Legal obligation: If decisions significantly affect her role, pay, or location while on parental leave — you must consult her before deciding. Leave does not pause this.
This plan is hers to lead. Your job is to honour it.
DO
Leave Communication Plan Template
Complete together. Both sign. File with HR.
1How she wants to stay in touch during parental leave
Contact frequency
Preferred channel(s)
Topics she WANTS updates on
Topics she does NOT want to be contacted about
2Scheduled check-in points — manager-initiated
These four check-ins happen regardless of frequency preferences above. The mid-parental-leave check-in is optional — only make contact if she selects yes below.
Check-in
When
Focus
Scheduled date
Done
before parental leave begins
2–4 weeks out
Confirm handover, preferred contact details, and what she wants to know about
Mid-parental-leave optional
Approx. 6 months
Brief and social only — not a return-to-work conversation. Only if she selects yes below.
Before return
4–6 weeks out
Return date, any role changes, flexible work needs, and a re-induction plan
Post-return
3–6 months after
Career conversation: development goals, upcoming opportunities, and workload check
Mid-parental-leave check-in — her choice only
Would she like her manager to reach out around the midpoint of her parental leave?
3Keeping in Touch (KIT) days — good to think about now
What are KIT days? Keeping in Touch days allow an employee to attend work for up to 10 days during parental leave without ending the Parental Leave Period or losing parental leave pay. KIT days are voluntary — both parties must agree. They are paid at the employee's normal rate and are entirely optional.
Are KIT days of interest? No decision needed now — this is just early thinking.
If yes — what type of activity would be useful?
4Career conversations — opportunities to keep her in mind for
Record any roles, projects, secondments, or training she wants flagged. Review at every check-in.
Opportunity / project to keep in mind
Likely timeframe
Action / notes
COMMIT
We both agree to this plan
This plan can be updated at any time — just let each other know. The goal is clarity, not a contract.
Every conversation you initiate is a trust deposit. Every silence is a withdrawal.
⏱
This takes
4 check-in conversations · 15 minutes each · across a 12–24 month journey
★
You build
A team member who knows you've got her back — she stays informed, connected, and returns with confidence without carrying the mental load of chasing you
KNOW
Read this before you start
📞
Most managers intend to stay connected during parental leave. Most don't. Not because they don't care — because there's no system and no language. The four check-ins below are the minimum standard.
🚦
Construction managers read risk signals all day. Green, amber, red — you already know how to scan an environment and respond to what you find. The Green Light applies that same discipline to the most important professional relationship you'll manage through this journey.
🎯
You are not being asked to be a counsellor. You are being asked to notice, name, and respond. That's leadership — and it's exactly what you already do on site.
The Green Light — read the signal, respond to what's actually there
🟢 GREEN Conversation is open
What it looks like: She answers fully and asks her own questions. She mentions specific things she's thinking about — her role, her team, her return. You leave the conversation with real information, not just reassurance.
Your job: Maintain the standard. Don't coast because it feels easy.
Say this:"Good to hear. Before we finish — is there anything I haven't asked that you'd want me to know?"
🟡 AMBER Polite but shallow
What it looks like: The conversation is friendly but doesn't go very deep. Answers are brief. Topics move on quickly. You finish the call with a general sense she's okay — but not much more than that.
Your job: Keep the conversation going a little longer than feels necessary. The real answer sometimes comes after the first one.
Say this:"I've got a bit more time if you do — what's one thing I or the team could do that would make the next month easier?"
🔴 RED Doesn't feel right
What it looks like: She may be quieter than usual, seems concerned, or raises something you weren't expecting. She may not say it directly — trust what you're observing. You don't need to be certain. If it feels off, treat it as red.
Your job: Stop the agenda. You don't need to fix it — you need to acknowledge it and make sure she knows support exists. She doesn't have to tell you anything she's not ready to share.
Say this:"I can see something might be on your mind — and you don't have to get into it with me if you'd rather not. But I want you to know support is available. Our EAP is completely confidential, and HR can also help. I'm happy to find the right person for you if that would help."
DO
Four check-in moments, in order
Each check-in has an opening question, a focus, and one question not to ask. Then apply the Green Light.
1
The Handover Check-In · Phase 02 · 4–6 weeks before parental leave begins
Do not leave this to the last week. Her career did not pause when she told you.
OPEN WITH
"Before we get into the handover — what's the one thing about going on parental leave that's taking up the most headspace for you right now?"
FOCUS ON
Confirm handover arrangements, her preferred contact details during parental leave, and what she wants to be kept across while she's out. Reference Tool 02 — Leave Communication Plan — if not yet completed.
NOT TO ASK
"When are you planning to come back from parental leave, exactly?"
2
The Early Signal · Phase 03 · Weeks 4–8 of leave
Optional — but high-impact. Brief and low-pressure. Only make contact if she selected yes in Tool 02.
OPEN WITH
"No agenda on my end — I just wanted to make sure you're hearing from me, not the other way around. What's been the biggest surprise about leave so far?"
FOCUS ON
One genuine team update she'd care about. Then stop. This is not a return-to-work conversation — it is a trust deposit. Her response will tell you more than her words.
NOT TO ASK
"Have you thought about what you'll do when you come back from parental leave yet?"
3
The Return Conversation · Phase 03 → 04 · 4–6 weeks before return
This is the most important check-in. Don't delegate it. Don't rush it.
OPEN WITH
"Before we get into dates and logistics — what's your honest read on coming back from parental leave? What are you looking forward to, and what's giving you pause?"
FOCUS ON
What's changed that directly affects her — role, team, reporting line, projects. She hears it from you, not through the grapevine. Discuss return date, flexible work needs, and what a good first month looks like to her.
NOT TO ASK
"So are you planning to go full-time straight away?"
Most managers stop here. Don't. This is when the maternal wall is most active.
OPEN WITH
"You've been back three months — if you were rating how well we've set you up since your return, what would you score us and why?"
FOCUS ON
Her development, not just her workload. What's next for her career — and are you actively making it happen? Run the Bias Compass (Tool 04) before any talent decision at this stage.
NOT TO ASK
"Are you finding it hard to be away from the baby?"
Check-ins completed: 0 of 4
⚖ Legal context
Adverse action protections, role change obligations, and flexible work entitlements apply across this entire journey under the Fair Work Act 2009 and Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). If anything changes that affects her role, pay, or career while she is on leave — tell her directly and promptly. Do not assume HR has it covered. Consult your organisation's parental leave policy and HR team for your specific obligations at each stage.
COMMIT
One action. Before her next check-in.
The one thing I will do before her next check-in:
My commitment by
TOOL 04 OF 08
A · Address Assumptions
Phases 2, 3 & 6
The Bias Compass
Use this before any talent decision involving a team member who is pregnant, on parental leave, or within 24 months of return.
⏱
This takes
Under 5 minutes and four compass questions
★
You build
A documented decision trail that protects careers and your organisation legally
KNOW
Read this before you start
🧠
Bias in construction is rarely intentional — it happens in the gap between a rushed decision and its examination.
⚖️
Your legal obligations under the Sex Discrimination Act and Fair Work Act do not pause when a woman takes parental leave — and neither does her career.
🛡️
You cannot remove someone from projects without documented reason, exclude them from pay cycles, or change scope without consultation. Five minutes now prevents irreversible damage.
Apply this tool to: project assignments · pay reviews · role changes · performance ratings · stretch opportunities
DO
Run The Bias Compass — ask yourself all four questions
Work through each quadrant before you finalise the decision. If any question gives you pause — stop and consult HR.
N
NORTH · News Headline
The reputation test
"Would you be comfortable if this decision appeared on the front page of a construction industry publication tomorrow?"
If you hesitated — the decision needs more scrutiny.
E
EAST · Evidence
The data test
"Is this decision based on her actual performance record — or on assumptions about her availability, ambition, or capacity since returning?"
Assumptions are not evidence. If you can't point to data, you're not ready to decide.
S
SOUTH · Swap
The gender double-standard test
"If this team member were male and had taken six months off for a serious illness, would you be making the exact same call?"
A different answer for a different person is evidence of bias, not business need.
W
WEST · Witness
The accountability test
"Would you make this same decision if she were sitting in the room with you right now?"
If the answer changes when she's visible, the reasoning hasn't been tested.
⊕
Answer all four questions
DOCUMENT
If proceeding — answer all three before you act
01
What is the specific business reason for this decision?
02
Have I consulted the team member or HR where required?
03
Would this same reasoning apply to any team member in this role?
COMMIT
One action. Before this decision is finalised.
Every completed checklist is both a career protection record for your team member and a legal protection record for you.
My commitment by
TOOL 05 OF 08
A · Address Assumptions
Cross-Phase · Run at disclosure, return, and any transition point
The Blind Spot Check
On site, risk goes up when hazards stack. People risk works the same way. This tool helps you see what's really going on, not just what's obvious.
⏱
This takes
15 minutes — a quiet think before or after a key conversation with someone on your team
★
You build
The ability to see what's really going on — not just the headline — and act on it
KNOW
Read this before you start
The Bias Compass helps you make fair decisions. This tool helps you see the person behind the decision — because not everyone walks in carrying the same load.
🔗
Not every parent on your site is dealing with the same stuff. A project manager coming back to an office role after 12 months of paid leave, with a partner at home and a team that's seen it before — that's a different re-entry than a second-year apprentice on a casual contract, only woman on a crew of thirty, coming back to a site that's never had anyone work flexibly. Both are returning parents. The pressures aren't even close. If you manage them the same way, you'll lose one of them — and it won't be the one with the support network.
⚠️
You already think this way. You just haven't applied it to people. You'd never sign off on a single hazard and call the job safe. You look at everything together — height, weather, fatigue, access, experience level. That's how you work out the real risk. It's the same with people coming back from parental leave or going through pregnancy on your site. Each extra pressure — being the only woman, casual contract, language barrier, mental health struggles, no one on site who's ever done flex — stacks up. Not because this person can't handle it. Because the environment wasn't set up for the load they're carrying.
You already do this thinking — just not with people
On site
Height + wet surface + end of shift + wind = you don't just fix one thing and sign off. You look at the combination and control the total exposure.
With people
Returning parent + only woman on crew + casual contract + no flex precedent + long commute = you don't tick one box and move on. You see the full load and lead around it.
Same thinking. Different application. Same leadership.
🪞
You don't need to know their whole story. You need to see what's making this harder. You're not a counsellor. You don't need to be an expert in every cultural background or family situation. But you do need to be honest with yourself about what's likely making things tougher for this particular person — and what you can do about it. A single parent has different logistics to someone with a partner at home. Someone whose first language isn't English is going to find it harder to push back in meetings. Someone coming back part-time on a crew that's never done flex before will cop every bit of that awkwardness. A bloke taking parental leave for the first time on your site will be watching every reaction. Seeing these layers isn't politics. It's paying attention.
Same company. Same policy. Completely different reality.
Sarah — Project Engineer
Back after 12 months paid leave. Partner works from home. Office role. Good manager. Two other women have come back before her on this team.
Lower risk
Priya — Site Supervisor (2nd year)
Back after 6 months. Single mum. Only woman on crew. English is her second language. Casual contract. Nobody on this site has ever worked flexibly.
High risk
Jake — Site Foreman
Taking 4 weeks parental leave — first bloke on site to do it. Crew of 25. No precedent. Worried about what people think. Wants to come back on a compressed week.
Elevated risk
Maria — Apprentice Carpenter
18 months into her apprenticeship. Pregnant. Lives with parents who don't speak English. Only woman in trade team. Doesn't know her rights. Too scared to ask.
High risk
The point:These are all parents or expectant parents in the same industry. Same policies apply. The experience won't be remotely the same. Your job isn't to have the same conversation with each of them. It's to have the right one — based on what's actually going on.
DO
Three steps. Fifteen minutes.
Do this quietly before or after a key conversation — when someone discloses, when you're planning their return, when they're transitioning projects, or when something feels off.
Step 1. Spot the load
Think about this specific person — not "a returning parent." Tick every factor that applies. You might not know all of them, and that's fine. The ones you can't see are usually the ones that matter most.
What the load looks like
—
Tick the boxes above to see the picture
What the count tells you:
1–2 layers: Manageable. Stay switched on, but the environment is probably okay. 3–4 layers: This person is carrying more than you can see. Don't wait for them to come to you — go to them. 5+ layers: Heavy load. Without you stepping in deliberately, the chances of this person checking out, burning out, or walking out go way up. This is where your leadership actually matters.
Step 2. Check your environment
The boxes above tell you what this person is carrying. These questions tell you whether your site is going to help or make it worse. Be honest — no one's reading this but you.
Would this person actually speak up if something was wrong — on this site, with this crew, given the culture here?
Has anyone on this team ever taken parental leave or worked flexibly before? Or will this person be the guinea pig?
Who on the crew is most likely to have a problem with adjustments being made for this person — and what are you going to do about it?
Where could the quiet exclusion happen? (Dropped off emails, not invited to the pub, left out of planning conversations, talked about instead of talked to.)
Name one real thing that makes this harder for them on your site:
Step 3. Pick your move
On site, when the risk goes up, you add controls. Same here. Pick at least one action that directly deals with what you've just identified. More load = more action from you.
The rule of thumb:The heavier the load, the more you need to step in. One or two layers? Stay switched on. Three or four? Go to them — don't wait. Five or more? Be deliberate, be visible, and don't let up — because no one else on that site is going to do it.
COMMIT
One action. One person. Written down.
For this person, the one thing I'm going to do — based on what I can now see — is:
Action by
TOOL 06 OF 08
R · Redesign the Environment
Cross-Phase · Applies at every stage
Flex Under Pressure
Construction is always under pressure. That's not the reason flex can't work — it's the reason it has to.
⏱
This takes
15 minutes — one team conversation and a commitment you write down
★
You build
A site culture where flex is how you operate — not a favour you grant
KNOW
Read this before you start
Three things every site leader needs to understand about flex in construction.
🔑
Flex isn't working from home. It's where, when, and how much. The biggest misconception in construction is that "flexible working" means laptops on the couch. It doesn't. For site-based roles, flex means control over start and finish times, compressed weeks, shift swaps, planned time off in lieu, and not being expected on site at 6am the morning after a concrete pour that ran until 10pm.
The Timewise "where, when, how much" model helped four major UK contractors roll out flex across site-based teams — with no impact on budget or programme.
📊
The business case is already proven. This isn't a theory. Four of the UK's largest construction firms — BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK, and Willmott Dixon — ran an 18-month flexible working programme across live construction sites. One year later, the results held. No schedule delays. No excess costs. And sickness absence dropped dramatically.
Sickness absence fell by up to one third across pilot firms. One-day absences more than halved at Skanska. In a sector losing £160m a year to absence, that's not soft — it's strategic.
🪞
The barrier isn't operational. It's cultural — and it starts with you. Most resistance to flex comes from habit, not logistics. The "knowing looks" when someone leaves at 4pm. The assumption that hours equal commitment. The guilt managers feel about leaving early — even when they tell their teams to do it. When leaders visibly modelled flexibility — leaving on time, openly taking a late start, not emailing at midnight — their teams followed. When they didn't, nothing changed.
"I make sure everyone sees me leaving early, even if sometimes I could stay and do more." — Senior leader, Skanska UK
DO
Know your flex menu
Not every type of flex works in every role. Use this table to identify what's realistic on your project — then offer it proactively, not as a last resort.
Type of Flex
What it looks like
Who it works for
Flexed hours
Vary start/finish times day to day. Site open 6–6 but individuals choose a window (e.g. 7–4 or 8–5). Rota for lock-up so not everyone stays late.
Site managersTradesOffice This is the single most impactful flex for site teams.
Compressed week
Same total hours across fewer days — e.g. 4 × 10-hour days instead of 5 × 8. Or a 9-day fortnight.
Site managersTrades Strong for FIFO workers and long commutes.
Time off in lieu
Late pour on Tuesday? Start late Wednesday. Formally tracked, not left to chance or guilt.
Site managersTrades Removes the "knowing looks" culture overnight.
Hybrid / partial remote
Report writing, planning, analysis done from home 1–2 days. Site presence on critical days.
Site managersOffice 75%+ of one pilot firm's staff now WFH at least 1 day/week.
Reduced hours
4-day week or shorter days — with workload redesigned to match, not squeezed into less time.
Site managersOffice Needs proper job redesign. Don't just expect a full-time role in part-time hours.
Shift / rota flex
Team-designed rota that covers site hours while giving individuals predictable time off. Friday early finishes covered by weekday lates.
TradesSite managers "Give and take" — the team owns the rota, not just the manager.
Source: Flex types adapted from the Timewise "where, when, how much" model. Pilot outcomes from Timewise & Build UK, Making Construction a Great Place to Work: Can Flexible Working Help? A View One Year On (2022), supported by CITB. Four firms: BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK, Willmott Dixon (~60,000 employees).
DO
Run the flex conversation with your team
Don't wait for a formal request. The best flex happens when the team designs it together. Use this charter in a 15-minute toolbox talk or team meeting.
Step 1. Ask the four charter questions
Print this or put it up on the wall in the site office. Let people write answers on sticky notes if they're not comfortable speaking up. The goal isn't to promise everything — it's to hear what matters most, then find what's possible.
Question 1
What's the one time commitment outside work that's hardest to manage right now?
Question 2
If you could change one thing about your start time, finish time, or weekly pattern — what would it be?
Question 3
What are the non-negotiable hours this project actually needs people on site?
Question 4
How do we cover for each other so flex works for everyone — not just the people who ask first?
Why this works:The Timewise programme found that flexibility works best when the team designs it together — understanding individual needs, then building a system of mutual cover. The shift from "Can I have permission?" to "How do we make this work as a team?" is what separates performative flex from real flex.
93% of Willmott Dixon employees reported having the "support and trust to work in an agile way" — up from 88% the year before.
Step 2. Pick your flex moves for this project
Based on your team's answers and the flex menu above, tick the moves you'll commit to trialling on this project. You don't need all of them. Start with two.
Flex moves selected: 0 of 6
Step 3. Name your "flex under pressure" rule
Flex is easy to maintain during calm phases. The real test is what happens when the programme gets tight. That's when most sites quietly abandon every promise they made. Before that happens, agree one rule that holds even under pressure — and write it down.
Example rules that survived deadline pressure:
"No one works more than 10 consecutive days without a break."
"If you stay past 7pm, you start after 9am the next day — no exceptions."
"Friday early finish stays in the rota even during the final push. We plan around it, not through it."
The Timewise programme found that earlier project phases lend themselves more easily to flex. The firms acknowledged that allowing for setbacks in early planning — adjusting timelines and budgets from the outset — protects flex when deadlines tighten.
Evidence base: Timewise & Build UK, Making Construction a Great Place to Work: Can Flexible Working Help? (2021) and A View One Year On (2022). Construction Pioneer Programme supported by CITB and Barclays LifeSkills. Partner firms: BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK, Willmott Dixon. ROI analysis conducted with the Institute for Employment Studies.
Key finding: In a construction firm of 200 frontline employees, retaining just 7 additional staff per year (from an average turnover of 68) recovers the full investment in flexible working within 3 years. Alternatively, 1 fewer sick day per person per year breaks even over the same period.
COMMIT
One flex commitment. This project. Written down.
The one change to how my team works that I'm committing to on this project is:
Starts by
TOOL 07 OF 08
R · Redesign the Environment
Phases 01 & 04 — Disclosure & Return Preparation
Site Amenity Audit Checklist
A policy that says 'we support flexibility' means nothing on a site with no clean toilet.
⏱
This takes
20 minutes on site · completed by the manager · done at disclosure and before return
★
You build
A site that is physically ready for her before she arrives — with a clear record that checks were completed and gaps actioned
KNOW
Read this before you start
🚧
Amenity failures are one of the most commonly cited reasons women leave construction during or after pregnancy. Most managers don't know — because no one tells them. They tell the union, they tell their friends, and they don't come back.
📋
This is a physical walkthrough. You do it on site, in person. It takes 20 minutes. It is not a facilities issue you hand to someone else — your name is on this tool because it is your leadership responsibility.
⚖️
Minimum standard is your legal obligation under WHS legislation. The CARE standard is not aspirational — it is what this toolkit expects of every CARE leader, and what any decent site should already be doing.
Record any gap and the action you will take. No gap is too small to note.
DO
Complete the audit — all five sections
Walk the site. Assess each item. Record any gap and the action required.
🚿 Section 1 — Toilets & Amenities
Checklist item
Minimum standard (WHS)
The CARE standard
Pass / Fail
Gap + action required
Accessible, clean, lockable toilet within reasonable proximity of the work area
WHS Act 2011 s.19; Safe Work Australia Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment and Facilities (2013). Reg 42 — adequate, suitable toilets must be provided.
Toilet within 200m of primary work area. Dedicated women's facility where crew numbers allow. No shared facility without separate lockable stalls.
Sanitary bins present and serviced in all women's toilet facilities
SWA Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment (2013) — sanitary disposal facilities required where women are employed.
Bins emptied fortnightly minimum. Sanitary products available on site. No employee should have to request these from a supervisor.
Toilet is clean, stocked with soap, paper towel or hand dryer, and toilet paper at all times
WHS Reg 2011 Reg 41–42. Facilities must be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition.
Cleaning schedule posted and signed. Frequency matched to site crew size — minimum daily on active sites. Nausea-related needs make cleanliness a health issue, not a preference.
Pregnant employee can access toilet with reasonable frequency without managerial approval
Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) s.7 — restricting toilet access for a pregnant employee may constitute unlawful discrimination.
Brief the team that toilet access is unrestricted. No sign-out required. No comment on frequency. This is a health need, not a privilege.
🤱 Section 2 — Breastfeeding & Expressing
Checklist item
Minimum standard (WHS)
The CARE standard
Pass / Fail
Gap + action required
A private, clean, non-toilet space is available for expressing or breastfeeding
Fair Work Act 2009 s.65; SDA 1984 s.7AA — discrimination on the ground of breastfeeding. WHS Act 2011 s.19.
A lockable room (not a toilet, not a storeroom) with a chair, power point, small table or bench, and fridge or esky for milk storage nearby. Room allocated before her first day back.
Milk can be stored safely on site (dedicated fridge or secured esky)
WHS Act 2011 s.19 — duty to provide safe workplace. Failure to enable safe milk storage affects employee health.
Dedicated shelf or drawer in fridge clearly labelled. If no fixed fridge on site, a quality insulated esky with ice packs provided. Privacy maintained — storage not visible to general staff.
Expressing breaks can be accommodated within the work schedule without formal leave
Fair Work Act 2009 s.65(1A)(aa); SDA 1984 s.7AA. Restricting or penalising expressing breaks may constitute indirect discrimination.
Schedule agreed in return-to-work plan. Breaks treated like any health-related break. Team briefed appropriately so coverage is seamless.
🦺 Section 3 — PPE & Workwear
Checklist item
Minimum standard (WHS)
The CARE standard
Pass / Fail
Gap + action required
PPE is available in sizes that fit a pregnant employee (hi-vis vest, hard hat, safety footwear)
WHS Act 2011 s.19; WHS Reg 2011 Part 3.2 Div 5 (reg 44) — PPE must be suitable for the worker using it. Ill-fitting PPE is a WHS breach.
Maternity hi-vis vests on site before she needs them — not ordered after she asks. Safety footwear sourced in women's sizing. PPE reviewed each trimester as body changes.
Workwear (uniforms, shirts, pants) is available in women's cuts and maternity sizing
SDA 1984 s.5 (sex discrimination) and s.7 (pregnancy discrimination). Men's-only workwear where women are employed may constitute indirect discrimination.
Women's workwear stocked as standard — not a special order. Maternity options discussed proactively at disclosure. Budget allocated for necessary replacements across trimesters.
A risk assessment for the pregnant employee's specific role and hazard exposure has been completed or scheduled
WHS Act 2011 s.19 — duty to manage risk. SWA Pregnancy at Work guidance (2020). Construction hazards (manual handling, noise, chemicals, heat) must be assessed against pregnancy.
Risk assessment completed within 2 weeks of disclosure. Reviewed each trimester. Done in consultation with the employee and her GP or midwife if needed. Documented and filed with HR.
😴 Section 4 — Rest, Fatigue & First Aid
Checklist item
Minimum standard (WHS)
The CARE standard
Pass / Fail
Gap + action required
Suitable seating or a rest area is accessible for a pregnant employee who needs to sit or rest during the workday
WHS Reg 2011 Reg 41 — adequate facilities must be provided. WHS Act 2011 s.19(3) — duty to provide a safe work environment.
Rest area within reasonable proximity of work area. Seating with back support. Access is not dependent on manager permission — it is a standing arrangement agreed at disclosure.
Drinking water is accessible throughout the workday without requiring the employee to leave the work zone
WHS Reg 2011 Reg 41. Adequate drinking water must be supplied. Pregnant employees have clinically elevated hydration needs.
Cooled, potable water within a short walk of primary work area. Do not rely on her carrying her own supply on a site in summer heat. Heat stress in pregnancy requires proactive access.
First aid kit is stocked with pregnancy-relevant items and first aiders are aware of pregnancy on site
WHS Reg 2011 Part 3.3 — first aid provisions must be suitable for the work and the workers. First aider must be informed of relevant medical conditions.
First aider briefed (with employee consent) on pregnancy status, due date, and relevant medical information. Emergency response plan updated. GP or midwife contact details on file.
👥 Section 5 — Site Culture & Climate
Checklist item
Minimum standard (WHS)
The CARE standard
Pass / Fail
Gap + action required
No inappropriate comments, jokes, or questions about pregnancy, leave, or return have been observed on this site in the past month
SDA 1984 s.7 (pregnancy discrimination), s.7A (family responsibilities), s.28B (harassment in employment), s.28M (hostile workplace environment — in force Dec 2022).
Active monitoring by the manager — not bystander waiting. Any comment addressed directly and immediately. Team briefed on professional standards before her return. Silence is not neutral.
Team is aware that the expressing space is private and access will be respected without comment
SDA 1984 s.7AA (breastfeeding discrimination) and s.28B (harassment in employment). Disclosure of breastfeeding status to colleagues without consent may constitute unlawful conduct.
Team briefed: "She has a scheduled break — same as a medical appointment." No further explanation required or requested. Room booking system or 'in use' sign in place.
🟢 Ready
All items pass. Site is prepared. Document and file.
🟡 Gaps identified
Some items fail. Complete all action items before her start date or return. Set a deadline.
🔴 Not ready
Multiple critical items fail. Escalate to HR and WHS immediately. Do not proceed without resolution.
⚖ Legal context
This checklist references obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth), WHS Regulation 2011 (regs 41, 42, 44 and Part 3.2), the Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment and Facilities (Safe Work Australia), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (ss.5, 7, 7A, 7AA, 28B, 28M), and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (s.65). State and territory WHS legislation contains equivalent provisions. Consult your WHS advisor, HR team, and relevant state regulator for obligations specific to your jurisdiction and site. This checklist does not constitute legal advice.
In construction, careers are built project by project. The question isn't where she'll be in five years — it's what she's walking into next. That's your call to make.
⏱
This takes
20 minutes — used when a project is wrapping up or at your 6-month self-review
★
You build
A manager who actively shapes her next opportunity — not one who waits to see where she lands
KNOW
Read this before you start
📉
Retention without progression is just performative — and a longer exit. She stays. She does good work. She doesn't go anywhere. Twelve months later, she's gone — not because anything went wrong, but because the system offered her nothing to stay for. The project wrap-up is the moment most managers miss.
🔑
Women in construction are chronically over-mentored and under-sponsored. She has probably had plenty of good conversations about her career. What she hasn't had is someone using their influence to open the next door. The gap isn't her ambition, her capability, or her readiness. The gap is advocacy. Mentoring happens in a room with her. Sponsorship happens in a room without her — and that's the one that moves careers.
🛡️
Sponsoring her makes you an ally — and builds your reputation. When you use your influence on her behalf, you're not just doing the right thing. You're becoming known as the kind of leader people want to work for and work with. The best site managers in this industry are remembered for the careers they shaped, the doors they opened, and the talent that followed them from project to project. That's the reputation worth having.
DO
Know which one you're doing right now
There's nothing wrong with mentoring — but it's not sponsorship. Learn the difference, then act on it.
When you...
You are mentoring
You are sponsoring ✦
Talk about her career
Give her advice in a 1:1 about what to do next
Tell the right person she's ready, before she has to ask
A new project comes up
Tell her about it and encourage her to put her hand up
Put her name to the decision-maker directly, with your endorsement behind it
You hear a limiting assumption
Tell her what's being said and leave it to her to navigate
Address the assumption — in the room, with your name on it — so she doesn't have to fight that battle herself
A pay or promotion cycle opens
Remind her to make sure she's visible and making the case
Flag her to HR unprompted. Follow up to confirm it happened.
DO
Three sponsorship moves this month
Pick at least one. Do it before this project wraps up.
1
Have the next-project conversation
Ask her what kind of project she wants next — scale, role, location, stretch. Then use that answer. When the right project comes up, her name is already in your mouth.
SAY THIS
"The project's wrapping up in a few months. What kind of role or project do you want to walk into next — and what can I do to help make that happen?"
Write down her answer. Use it. That's the whole point.
2
Say her name in a room she's not in
Think of one conversation this month — a resourcing call, a succession discussion, a client briefing — where you could introduce her as someone ready for more. Say it. That's the whole move.
THE MOVE
"I want to flag [name] for the next [project/role]. She's delivered [specific result] on this project and she's ready for [specific stretch]. I'd back her."
Sponsorship isn't hinting. It's putting your credibility behind her — publicly.
3
Close the pay loop before the project ends
Ask HR whether her pay has been reviewed since she returned. If not, ask why not and when. Track the answer. A pay gap that forms quietly during parental leave compounds for years if no one closes it.
ASK HR
"Has [name]'s pay been reviewed since she returned from parental leave? If not, when is that happening — and what do you need from me to make sure it does?"
Don't accept "it'll happen in the next cycle." Get a date.
Moves completed: 0 of 3
COMMIT
One sponsorship move. Before this project wraps up.
Before this project wraps up, the one sponsorship move I will make for her is:
An individual leadership mirror — not an audit of your organisation's policies. Score yourself honestly. Return every six months.
About this assessment
Use this self-assessment alongside the CARE Leadership Framework — not instead of it. The Framework defines the capabilities and sets the standard. This tool asks one question: are you actually living it?
Score 1 for behaviours that are fully and consistently in place in your own practice. Score 0 for anything partial, inconsistent, or only in certain circumstances. Consistency is the standard.
Each pillar scores out of 12. Total score out of 48. Your score reflects your practice — not your organisation's policies.
0–16 · SUPPORT
Every leader starts somewhere. Your focus: the disclosure conversation, your WHS obligations, and staying genuinely in contact across the parental leave journey. Trust is built in every interaction.
17–32 · SUSTAIN
You have foundations in place. The work now is making this consistent regardless of who's asking, how busy the project is, or how straightforward the situation feels.
33–48 · SPONSOR
You're leading this well — not common in this industry. The opportunity now is the reach of what you're doing. Progression not just retention. Sponsorship not just support.
YOUR SCORE
0
/ 48
C
0/12
A
0/12
R
0/12
E
0/12
LEVEL
—
C
Connect with Courage
Build the relationship where truth can be told.
Pillar score0 / 12
▼
The difference you make: When you get this right, people tell you what they actually need — before it becomes a crisis. The quality of your relationship at the point of disclosure is one of the strongest predictors of whether someone returns from parental leave at all.
SUPPORT — What you're building: The trust that means a parent feels safe being honest with you at every stage.
When a team member discloses pregnancy to me, I react with warmth — before logistics — and I schedule a one-on-one planning conversation within two weeks. I lead it, not HR.
Before they go on parental leave, I have a real conversation about how they'd like to stay in touch — frequency, channel, what they want to hear about. Then I respect whatever they decide.
If anything changes that affects their role, pay or career while they're on parental leave, I tell them directly and promptly — I don't assume someone else will pass it on.
I initiate the return conversation at least four weeks before they come back from parental leave — covering duties, hours, team changes and how they're feeling. Not a 'see you Monday' email.
SUSTAIN — What you're building: A team where parents know consistent support is the standard, not the exception.
I connect at four points: before parental leave, during if they want it, before return, and 3–6 months after they're back. I initiate each one — I don't wait to be asked.
I've sought out what I need to have these conversations well — I know what to say, what not to say, and where my legal obligations sit at each stage. I didn't wait to be sent to training.
If they want to stay in contact during parental leave, I make it easy and frame it around what interests them — not what I need from them. I never make them feel that contact is conditional on their availability.
Before they go on parental leave, I have an honest conversation about career — what's coming up, what opportunities I'll keep them in mind for, and how the timing looks from their perspective.
SPONSOR — What you're building: A culture where parenthood is visible, valued and never a ceiling to a career.
I take personal responsibility for their transition — I don't assume HR or anyone else is across it. I nominate myself or a senior colleague as their named point of contact before parental leave starts.
I understand that how I lead through parental leave is a reflection of my leadership — and I'm comfortable being held to account for retention outcomes in my team.
I keep a record of how I've handled disclosures and return-to-work conversations in my team. I can tell you what I'd do differently — and I act on it.
From day one back, I include returning team members in forward conversations. Their return isn't a reset — and their career didn't pause while they were away.
A
Address Assumptions
Interrupt bias before it shapes a career.
Pillar score0 / 12
▼
The difference you make: When you get this right, parental leave doesn't become an invisible turning point in someone's career. The pause before the call is what separates good leaders from exposed ones.
SUPPORT
I know what I legally cannot do — remove someone from a project without their request, exclude them from pay or performance reviews while on parental leave, or change their role scope without a documented reason.
When performance, pay or bonus cycles happen while someone is on parental leave, I flag them to HR for inclusion. I don't assume they're automatically captured — and I follow up to confirm.
If someone is on a leadership-track project when they disclose, they stay on it unless they choose otherwise. That decision belongs to them, not me.
I know what flexible work options exist and I share them proactively — before someone has to ask, not after they've had to push.
SUSTAIN
Before any talent decision involving someone on or returning from parental leave, I pause and ask: would I make this same call if they hadn't taken parental leave? I make that question a habit.
If I'm considering changing role scope during pregnancy or after return, I consult them first, document the business reason, and apply the same standard I'd use for anyone else.
When someone requests flexible work, I treat it as a practical problem to solve — not a favour to consider. I don't reach for 'it won't work on site' before I've genuinely tried.
If someone in my team is within two years of returning from parental leave and ready for more, I put their name forward. I don't hold back because of the timing of their return.
SPONSOR
I notice patterns in my team. If people are leaving or stalling after parental leave, I ask why — and I look honestly at what my own leadership may be contributing.
I'm open about flexible arrangements I use myself — not performatively, just honestly. So others feel real permission, not just policy permission.
When talent or succession is being discussed, I speak up if I hear assumptions being made about someone's ambition or availability based on their parental status. I name what I'm seeing.
When someone in my team has been back from parental leave for 12 months, I ask HR whether their pay has been reviewed. I track the answer — and I follow it up if it hasn't happened.
R
Redesign the Environment
Make the site work for the people actually on it.
Pillar score0 / 12
▼
The difference you make: When you get this right, the physical environment and the structure of the work stop being reasons people leave the industry. You also fulfil your legal duty of care under WHS legislation, which is not optional.
SUPPORT
When someone discloses pregnancy, I initiate a WHS risk conversation within two weeks. We review the physical demands of their role, document what we'll monitor, and I revisit it as the pregnancy progresses.
If their role carries physical risk during pregnancy, I offer modified duties or a transfer proactively — not after they've had to push through something unsafe.
There are clean, private, lockable toilets accessible on this site. I have personally checked. I don't wait for someone to raise it as a problem.
If someone returns while breastfeeding or expressing, a private, hygienic space is ready before their first day back. I ask what they need and I make it happen.
SUSTAIN
I make sure PPE and workwear actually fits — during pregnancy and postnatally. If standard-issue gear doesn't work, I find out what does and get it ordered. Ill-fitting gear is a safety issue.
When we build the return-to-work plan together, I ask about physical recovery and fatigue — not just hours and duties. The first months back after having a baby are physically demanding.
When adjusted hours or a different arrangement are needed, I work out how to make it function on this site — 'frontline roles can't be flexible' is not an answer I accept from myself before I've tried.
Parental leave absences go into the project plan before they start. The team doesn't quietly absorb the load. I plan for it the way I plan for any other resource gap.
SPONSOR
I have actually redesigned at least one role in my team for part-time or flexible delivery — tested on a real project, not noted in a policy. I can describe what it took and what it produced.
I've genuinely explored job share in my team — thought through handover, continuity and accountability rather than dismissing it before I started. I can tell you what I found.
I protect the agreed hours of someone returning from parental leave. If the project pushes overtime, I make sure that pressure doesn't land on them without a real conversation first.
When someone goes on parental leave, I make the case for their role to be properly covered while they're away. I raise it, plan for it, and push back if the answer is 'the team will absorb it'.
E
Elevate
Invest in their career. Return is the beginning, not the catch-up.
Pillar score0 / 12
▼
The difference you make: When you get this right, parental leave becomes a career moment rather than a career gap. Retention without progression is just a longer exit.
SUPPORT
Their return-to-work plan connects duties to career goals — not just a task list or an hours arrangement. I ask where they want to be in one to two years and I build the plan toward that.
I give them a genuine re-onboarding — what's changed, what they've missed, time to reconnect with the team — before I expect them to be fully operational. Their return isn't day one on a new site.
When they return from parental leave, I flag them for the next promotion and pay review cycle. No informal waiting period — I don't apply a 'let's see how they settle in' filter I wouldn't use for anyone else.
Within six months of return, I have a dedicated career conversation with them. Not a performance review — a genuine, forward-looking conversation about where they want to go. I initiate it.
SUSTAIN
For at least 12 months after return, I actively sponsor them — using my influence on their behalf, putting their name forward, speaking up in rooms they're not in. Not just offering advice when they ask.
I raise phased return as an option when building the return-to-work plan — before they have to ask. I frame it as a smart transition strategy, not a concession. And if it needs sign-off, I do the work.
I notice whether people in my team stay after parental leave. If they're not staying, I take that seriously as something worth understanding — not a coincidence to move past.
When someone wants to participate in professional networks or development, I treat that time as legitimate — I plan around it where I can, and I don't let 'site's too busy' become the default reason it doesn't happen.
SPONSOR
I hold myself accountable for where people end up — not just the experience they have during the transition. Career trajectory within two years of returning from parental leave is a measure I apply to myself.
Within two years of someone returning, I'm actively looking for the right next opportunity for them. I don't wait for them to campaign for themselves — I track it.
I talk openly about how I lead through parental transitions — with my team, across the industry, with clients where it's relevant. Good practice becomes normal when it's visible.
I contribute honestly to any reporting on parental leave outcomes. The standard I hold for my team is the same one I hold for myself.
Your CARE Practitioner Score
C
Connect
0 / 12
A
Address
0 / 12
R
Redesign
0 / 12
E
Elevate
0 / 12
TOTAL
0/ 48
—
Three steps that move things forward
1
Name your growth area
Look at your lowest-scoring pillar. That's where the biggest opportunity sits. Pick one indicator, commit to changing your practice within 30 days, and tell someone you trust. Accountability makes it real.
2
Do one thing this week
Find an indicator you could act on right now. Do it. Momentum matters more than a perfect plan when you're building new habits.
3
Come back in six months
This is not a one-time exercise. Return at every major phase of a team member's parental leave journey — and formally reassess every six months. Progress, not a perfect score, is the point.
Crib Shift CARE Aware Practitioner Certification
This self-assessment is part of the CARE Aware Practitioner program, an individual certification for construction leaders who commit to building the knowledge, behaviours and accountability to support parents through pregnancy, parental leave and return to work. To learn more about how you can become certified please email [email protected]
For the whole crew. Six short briefings that build the team culture your one-to-one work depends on.
Key Contacts
Lifeline13 11 14
MATES in Construction1800 111 315
Beyond Blue1300 22 4636
PANDA Helpline1300 726 306
Breastfeeding Helpline1800 686 268
Pre-shift briefings for your whole team
Each kit is a short, structured briefing — designed to be run in 10–15 minutes before a shift or team meeting. No facilitator experience required.
TB 01
When a Mate Tells You She's Pregnant
What to say, what not to say, and what the law requires.
10–15 min
Whole crew
TB 02
What Pregnancy Actually Does (and Doesn't Do)
Separating myth from reality so the team knows how to help.
10–15 min
Whole crew
TB 03
Checking In on Dads & Partners
How to check in on expectant and new fathers, not just the women — and what to do with the answer.
10–15 min
Whole crew
TB 04
Breastfeeding, Expressing and Basic Dignity on Site
What the law requires and how to make it work on a construction site.
10–15 min
Whole crew
TB 05
Miscarriage, Loss & What to Say on Site
How to show up for a teammate after miscarriage, stillbirth or pregnancy loss — when saying nothing is the worst option.
10–15 min
Whole crew
TB 06
Keeping in Touch During Leave
Staying connected without overstepping. What good contact looks like.
10–15 min
Whole crew
CARE Crew
Crib Shift · CARE Aware Leadership
Project Culture
Culture changes when the structures change. These tools work at the organisational level — diagnosing gaps, calculating impact, and building the evidence to drive real action.
CARE Blueprint
Your Personalised Six-Month Support Plan
Tell us where she is in her journey. CARE Blueprint builds a personalised plan around her — the right tools, in the right order, at the right time. So you always know what to do next, how to do it well, and you can show up as the manager she deserves at one of the most important moments of her life.
15–20 min · Start here — then return at each new phase
Open CARE Blueprint
Flex Roster
Build Flexibility into the Schedule
"We'd love to offer flexibility — we just don't know how it would work on site." This tool builds concrete roster options from your real team data. No guesswork, no vague promises. Just a practical model you can actually put in front of someone.
10–15 min · Use when planning return or a flex request
Build your Flex
Retention Calculator
Know What Losing Her Actually Costs
When someone leaves, the cost rarely makes it onto a spreadsheet. This tool puts a real number on it — recruitment, lost knowledge, and the hit to your Shift Change targets. Shift Change is Transport for NSW's Skills, Diversity, Aboriginal and Culture Requirements: mandatory workforce targets set across major government construction projects. This calculator makes the impact visible, so you can make the case to keep her with evidence, not just instinct.
5–10 min · Use when making the case to leadership
Calculate the Cost
Comms Scanner
Check your Message Before you Send it
One poorly worded message can undo months of good leadership. Paste in a draft — an email, a Teams message, an announcement — and the scanner reads it for tone, legal risk, and how it lands for someone who is pregnant or returning from parental leave.
2 min · Use any time you're about to send something sensitive
Supporting a team member through pregnancy and parental leave is one of the most important things you'll do as a leader. CARE Blueprint helps you do it well. Five questions. Three minutes. A clear plan.
How it works
Tell us where you are in her journey. CARE Blueprint builds your personalised six-month plan — the right tools, in the right order, at the right time.
Step 1 of 5
○
Know — Read this before you start
Your shortcut to getting this right
When someone in your team is pregnant, on leave, or returning to work, the quality of your leadership in those moments shapes whether she stays, whether she thrives, and whether your team is stronger for it. That deserves care and intention — and the right support behind you.
CARE Blueprint is part of that support. Answer five quick questions about where you are in her journey, and it builds a CARE Blueprint — which tools to use, in what order, and when each one matters most. No guesswork, no reading eight tools front to back. Just a clear path forward so you can give this the attention it deserves.
It takes three minutes. The plan is yours to save, print, pin to your site office wall, or keep on your phone. When her circumstances change, come back and run it again.
Question 01 of 05
Where are you in her journey right now?
Select the phase that best describes the current situation. If you're between phases, pick the one you're about to enter.
Phase 01
Disclosure
She has just told you she is pregnant. You're in the first two weeks.
Phase 02
Pre-Parental Leave
She's still at work but leave is on the horizon — weeks to months away.
Phase 03
On Parental Leave
She's currently on leave. You're managing the team without her.
Phase 04
Pre-Return
She's coming back within the next 4–8 weeks. Planning needs to start now.
Phase 05
Return
She's back — first 90 days. Reintegration is underway.
Phase 06
Stabilisation
She's been back 3+ months. The transition feels done — but the work isn't.
Question 02 of 05
How long has she been in this phase?
This helps calibrate urgency. Some actions are time-sensitive.
Question 03 of 05
Are any of these true right now?
Select all that apply. These flags shape which tools get priority and which actions move to the top of your plan.
✓
There is no documented return-to-work plan yet
✓
No communication plan was agreed before leave
✓
Her role, team, or reporting line has changed (or will change)
✓
No WHS risk assessment has been completed for this pregnancy
✓
Site amenities haven't been checked (toilets, PPE, expressing space)
✓
A pay, performance, or bonus cycle is coming up in the next 3 months
✓
A talent or succession review is happening soon
✓
I've noticed or heard comments on site about her pregnancy, leave, or return
✓
She plans to breastfeed or express when she returns
✓
None of these apply
Question 04 of 05
What does she want from the next 12 months?
If you don't know, that's a signal. Pick what you think is closest — and plan to ask her.
Career progression
She's ambitious and wants to keep moving — promotion, stretch projects, visibility.
A steady return
She wants to come back well, get settled, and find her rhythm before pushing for more.
Flexibility that works
Her priority is making the job compatible with her life right now — hours, location, schedule.
I'm not sure
I haven't had this conversation with her yet — or things have shifted since we last spoke.
Question 05 of 05
What's her name?
This personalises your blueprint. First name only — this document is for you.
⏳
Building your CARE Blueprint…
Mapping tools to phases, prioritising flags, sequencing your next six months.
Your CARE Blueprint
CARE Pillars
C Connect with Courage
A Address Assumptions
R Redesign the Environment
E Elevate
🔔
Don't leave it to memory
Your blueprint has six monthly checkpoints. Put them where you'll actually see them.
1 Project
2 Team
3 Flex Options
4 Roster
Build a Roster That Makes Flex Real on Your Site
You've had the flex conversation. Now turn those commitments into a working roster you can take to your project director.
📋
Your Constraints
Hours, crew, RDOs, critical days
👥
Team Needs
Aggregated — no names needed
📊
Roster Options
Clear visual with honest trade-offs
🔗
Use this after completing Tool 06: CARE Flex
Tool 06 runs the team charter conversation — what your crew needs, which flex types you'll trial, and your "flex under pressure" rule. This tool takes those outputs and generates roster options. If you haven't run that conversation yet, start there first.
📌
This is a conversation starter — not a final roster.
The options this tool generates are a starting point based on the Timewise/Build UK evidence and your inputs. They're designed to demonstrate that flex can work on an Australian construction site — but every option will need to be discussed with your project director, your team, and your IR/HR advisor before implementation. Nothing here replaces that conversation.
Evidence base: Roster patterns draw on the Timewise/Build UK Construction Pioneer Programme (2021–2022), which tested flexible working across live UK sites with BAM, Skanska and Willmott Dixon — with no adverse impact on programme or budget, and sickness absence falling by up to one third. Contextualised here for Australian construction under the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 (MA000020) and Fair Work Act 2009.
Step 1 of 4
Project Setup
Start with the non-negotiables. What does the site need?
Crew & Hours
Award reference: Under MA000020, ordinary hours are 38/week — but most sites run well above that under EBAs and overtime arrangements. This tool works with your actual site hours and pattern, not the award minimum. The 38hr baseline still matters for penalty rate triggers, RDO accrual (0.4 hrs/day in a 20-day cycle), and IFA thresholds. Starting from 6:00 AM is permitted by agreement.
Project Phase
Flex tolerance varies by phase — early works and fitout typically offer the most room.
Critical Site Days
Select the activities that require full crew on site — flex pauses on these days.
Award / EBA Coverage
Which industrial instrument primarily covers your site crew?
Important: Roster options will flag where proposed patterns intersect with award provisions around ordinary hours, the RDO system, overtime triggers, and penalty rates. If your site operates under a company EBA, verify those specific provisions — EBAs must pass the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). Always check with your IR/HR team before implementation.
Step 2 of 4
Team Needs
Aggregated numbers only — no names needed. This keeps it safe and honest.
🔗
These numbers come from your Tool 06 charter conversation — the answers to "What's the one time commitment outside work that's hardest to manage?" and "What would you change about your pattern?"
Caring Responsibilities
School pickup (before 3:30pm)
Need to leave site by ~3:00pm
0
Childcare / school drop-off (after 8am)
Can't start before ~8:30am
0
Elder / carer responsibilities
Need regular time for appointments
0
Regular medical / allied health
Physio, GP, mental health — recurring
0
Fair Work Act — Right to request: Since June 2023, eligible employees (parents, carers, 55+, disability, those experiencing family/domestic violence) have a strengthened right to request flexible working arrangements. Employers must genuinely discuss, consider, and provide written reasons for any refusal within 21 days. Proactively designing flex into your roster is smarter than reacting to individual requests.
Commute & Wellbeing
Long commuters (90+ min each way)
Would benefit from compressed or staggered hours
0
FIFO / staying away from home
Value early Friday finish or compressed week
0
Mental health / wellbeing concerns
Reduced hours or adjusted days could help
0
Minimum Coverage
Step 3 of 4
Your Flex Appetite
Which types of flex are you open to trialling? These should match the flex moves you committed to in Tool 06.
🔗
From Tool 06: CARE Flex — Step 2 Tick the same flex moves you committed to. The Roster Builder turns those commitments into a visual schedule.
Time-Based — "When"
Adjusting when hours are worked, not total hours. Works within the award's ordinary hours spread.
TOIL under MA000020: Clause 29.13 allows TOIL by written agreement between employer and individual employee. Time off is hour-for-hour (not at penalty rates). The employee can request payment for untaken TOIL at any time.
Location-Based — "Where"
Volume-Based — "How Much"
RDO banking: Under MA000020 Clause 16.5, employees can bank up to 5 accrued RDOs. The employer must not unreasonably withhold agreement for the employee to take a banked RDO on a requested day.
Charter Status
CARE Aware Leadership System
CARE Impact
Pregnancy and parental leave is the single biggest reason women leave construction projects. When she doesn't come back, your Shift Change numbers take the hit.
This tool shows you the true cost of that loss — the dollars, the compliance impact, and the story behind both. Then it gives you report-ready language you can copy straight into your next quarterly submission to the client.
✓ Three steps
✓ Three minutes
✓ Report-ready output
TfNSW Skills, Diversity, Aboriginal and Culture Requirements
Clauses 12.4.1 · 12.4.2 · 12.5.1
Projects over $100M
Step 1 of 3
Your Culture
First, we need your project's current workforce numbers. These set your baseline against the Shift Change targets — so when we model what happens if she leaves, you can see exactly how it shifts the percentages you report on. Best estimates are fine — the tool shows the methodology so you can refine later.
Total workforce on this project
Head count across all roles currently engaged. Include subcontractors if they're counted in your Shift Change reporting.
Women in non-traditional roles
Cl. 12.4.1.B · 7%
Engineers, coordinators, supervisors, safety, estimators — roles not traditionally held by women in construction.
Women in trades
Cl. 12.4.1.A · 2%
Women holding trade qualifications working on site.
Women in leadership / management
Cl. 12.4.1.E · 7%
Project managers, construction managers, superintendents, directors, site managers, lead engineers.
Total leadership / management roles
Cl. 12.4.1.E–F
Total head count in leadership and management positions.
Project phase
Months since contract award
This determines whether the 7% women in leadership target (first 12 months) or the 2% year-on-year increase (Cl. 12.4.1.F) applies.
Step 2 of 3
About Her
Now tell us about the team member you're supporting. She might be newly pregnant, planning her leave, or on her way back — the question is the same: what does your project lose if she doesn't return? We use these details to calculate the replacement cost and identify which Shift Change clauses are directly affected.
Her first name or initials (optional)
For your reference only — makes the output more personal. Not stored anywhere.
Her role category
Trade Role
Cl. 12.4.1.A
Carpenter, electrician, plumber, plant operator, etc.
Project manager, construction manager, superintendent, director
Her approximate total annual package
Include super. If you're not sure, select the closest range — the calculator shows the working so you can adjust.
Years of industry experience
Time on this project
Step 3 of 3
Review & Calculate
Check your inputs below. When you're ready, we'll generate the full picture — replacement cost, compliance impact, and report-ready language you can take straight to the client.
CARE Aware Leadership · Comms Scanner
Check Your Comms
Paste a message you're planning to send to a team member during pregnancy, parental leave, or return to work. The scanner checks your tone, assumptions, and legal footing — and shows you exactly where to strengthen it.
⏱
This takes
30 seconds and one paste
★
You build
Communication that builds trust, avoids bias, and protects you legally — every time
Step 1 — What phase is this communication for?
Step 2 — Paste your message
🔒 Privacy note: message content is processed via an external AI API and is not stored or retained. Do not include personal identifying information.
