Sue Williamson | Will the APS become a model employer?

The Labor government has committed to making the APS a model employer, or an employer of choice. Government policy and Ministerial statements show this very clearly. In an address to the APS early in her tenure, Katy Gallagher, Minister for the Public Service, decried the "deliberate devaluing of the APS".

The minister pledged to make the APS a model employer once again.

Senator Gallagher has outlined the elements of being a model employer, which include increased diversity, respect, improved workplace cultures, and improved terms and conditions of employment.

The latest State of the Service Report also outlines the elements of being a model employer. These include: developing a strong employee value proposition (EVP) and an APS-wide approach to flexible work. I next consider some of these elements.

In her speech, Senator Gallagher strongly linked diversity management, gender equality, and respect at work as essential parts of being a model employer. The Senator stated she does not want agencies to simply publish empty diversity statements. This is an important point, as it is too easy for organisations to consider that they have achieved diversity or gender equality simply by having a policy.

The first gender equality strategy for the APS was released in 2016.

While an important development, the policy only recommended piecemeal actions to progress gender equality. This strategy was refreshed in late 2021 to become a much more robust and comprehensive strategy which would progress gender equality if implemented.

Recently I checked all the departmental websites to identify which ones had adopted this new strategy. The results were disappointing. Only two departments had made any meaningful policy changes.

Developing and implementing new gender equality strategies would go a long way towards agencies becoming a model employer.

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However, APS agencies will be required to report on their gender equality progress to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, which will hopefully drive change.

Further, we have seen calls recently for the APS to become more diverse, in part due to the low representation of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in senior leadership positions. This would also contribute to making the APS a model employer.

Attracting and retaining other diversity groups are also a focus of the APS. Increasing the employment of First Nations people is a stated priority for the APS to become a model employer.

The APS has also long held a commitment to increasing the employment of people with disability, with the Australian government implementing a range of affirmative action programs to achieve this aim.

Many APS employees worked from home during the pandemic, with an APSC report stating that in 2021, more than two in five APS employees worked remotely.

Senator Gallagher has requested an APS-wide approach be developed in regard to flexibility.

This is welcome news. Research my colleagues and I have conducted shows APS managers are much more supportive of employees working from home than they were pre-pandemic. Hybrid working is here to stay, so it makes sense to adopt an-APS wide approach. A strong EVP is necessary to attract and retain staff in a COVID-normal era. Numerous studies show employees will consider leaving their organisation if they are unable to work flexibly. Our 2021 survey of APS employees showed over two in five employees stated that they would consider changing agencies or leaving the public sector if they could not work from home at all. Redeveloping the employee value proposition around flexible working would also help to make the APS a model employer.

The new interim workplace arrangements also reiterate that the government is committed to being a model employer. To that end, late last year the government announced APS employees would receive a 3 per cent pay rise, addressing a decade of stagnant wages. The government has also committed to being a model employer in workplace bargaining, which is likely to mean engaging in good faith bargaining with unions.

The Australian Public Service Commission is also working towards establishing common core terms and conditions of employment across the APS. This would overcome the fragmentation of terms and conditions which has occurred - a hallmark of neoliberalism and New Public Management since the late 1970s. Providing fair and equitable conditions of employment is another hallmark of being a model employer.

Another way to ensure equitable conditions of employment is through the regulation of working from home. We have suggested working from home be regulated collectively, rather than being based on an individual negotiation between an employee and their manager. A collective approach would see enterprise agreements underpinned by a collective presumption that employees can work from home.

This new direction from the government signals a turning point. In a 2015 speech, just before the release of the 2016 APS Gender Equality Strategy, Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd announced he did not seek for the APS to be ahead of community standards. Despite being the head of public employment, Lloyd's only explicit reference to being an employer of choice was in relation to people with a disability.

Prior to the new Labor government, there was little leadership consistency on how the APS could become an employer of choice or a model employer. Now, however, a way forward is clear. All that remains is for the public service to deliver on these actions, which will result in the APS becoming a model employer.