Aussie company divides opinion after giving workers two weeks of extra leave – but only if they have children under the age of 12

An Australian company has divided opinion after offering its workers an additional two weeks of leave if they have children under the age of 12.

Fashion retailer DISSH introduced the policy to help parents juggle school events, sick days and major milestones. 

The female-founded retailer said the additional leave aims to close the financial gap faced by women in the workforce, insisting ‘ambition and motherhood are not opposing paths.’ 

Supporters have praised the initiative as a long-overdue acknowledgement of the realities of modern parenting. 

 Others argue it unfairly disadvantages employees who don’t have children. 

‘Just because someone doesn’t have children doesn’t mean they don’t have other things going on in their personal life that may require time off,’ one wrote on social media. 

‘As a parent this feels wrong. A few days? Sure. But two weeks is a long time and that feels unfair to the people without kids,’ a second added.

‘They have lives and responsibilities too.’ 

Others praised the company for setting a new standard in the workplace. 

‘Why the debate? Every parent knows how hard it is to fit in with the current leave entitlements when you’ve got kids,’ one said.

‘The owner of DISSH is a mum. She gets it! People need to realise she’s supporting her employees not pocketing her business profits,’ another added. 

Small business owner Gab Wilson said the policy is an inspiring step forward.

‘I think it’s 2026 – these two worlds should absolutely coexist.’

DISSH was founded by Maree Henry as a single store on the Gold Coast back in 2001.

Today, the fashion label is led by her daughter, Lucy Henry-Hicks, a young mother of two who became CEO and Creative Director in 2020. 

The new initiative builds on DISSH’s existing family-friendly benefits, which already include paid leave for IVF and fertility treatment, surrogacy and adoption planning, pregnancy-related illness, and flexible return-to-work arrangements. 

Current DISSH CEO Lucy Henry-Hicks (left) and her mother who founded the company, Maree Henry (right)

In April, the Australian Council of Trade Unions used a parliamentary inquiry into national employment standards to argue for full-time employees to have their standard working week cut from 38 hours to 35.

The proposal could pave the way for a four-day working week, while allowing workers to keep their current pay.

The union movement says shorter hours would improve work-life balance, reduce burnout and boost productivity.

The plan is backed by the retail workers’ union, the SDA, the Australian Services Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the United Workers Union and Victorian Trades Hall Council.

National employment standards currently guarantee 11 minimum entitlements for workers, including a 38-hour week, reasonable additional hours and the right to request flexible working arrangements, but unions want those protections expanded to reduce working hours.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions argues that despite the proposed reduction in working hours, employees should not lose pay or conditions, including penalty rates and overtime.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil said Australian workers had been putting in long hours for long enough and it was time for change.

‘Working people work to live, not live to work, and the results of trials tell us more time for workers boosts productivity, reduces burnout, improves their health and retention,’ she said.

‘Australians have been working record long hours for some time now – currently around an average of four and a half weeks’ of unpaid overtime each year.

‘While Australians work longer hours, the gap between productivity and real wages is getting wider. Real wages would need to increase by 10 per cent to catch up to increases in productivity since 2000.’