Australia Day: SMEs offer flexibility to employees looking to work on January 26

Australian small businesses and startups are joining the call to offer employees the choice to work on the Australia Day (or Invasion Day) public holiday and opt to take the time off at a later date, or to take January 26 off altogether. 

With some of Australia’s biggest corporations set to give employees the option to work on January 26, many smaller businesses are either already doing the same or following suit.

Founder and CEO of Sydney-based business ELLADEX, Shivani Gopal tells SmartCompany she will be giving her staff the option next month.

“Inclusivity is at the heart of everything we do,” she said.

ELLADEX, which describes itself as a ‘digital rolodex’ for women’s personal, professional and financial growth, has 10 primarily full-time staff members.

Founder and CEO of ELLADEX, Shivani Gopal. Source: supplied.

Gopal says the business understands and respects everyone’s positions and beliefs.

“I think as a small business, we don’t often get as much choice or the opportunity to be as flexible as bigger businesses, but we always make sure we can deliver,” she said.

“Flexibility is important and we have the ability to offer staff the opportunity to work or take the day off, so why not. It’s a no-brainer for small businesses, and it’s a way to be inclusive and respectful.”

Similarly, Zoom2u Technologies CEO Steve Orenstein says his business will continue to offer flexibility to its staff members on January 26, which will fall on a Thursday in 2023.

“We already are, and will be, flexible with our team for Australia Day,” he told SmartCompany.

“Most people (based on last year) will decide to take this date off, and perhaps Friday too to make the most of a long weekend. Providing teams are left with enough resources to do their jobs in the absence of others, we are in full support of this.”

Orenstein says while choice is important, he thinks the real game-changer here is flexibility. Zoom2u now has 100 staff members, 40 of which have joined in the last 12 months, and the business will be striving to unlock further growth in 2023. 

“Although it now sounds cliched, flexibility was possibly one of the leading realisations for both employers and employees post-COVID,” he said.

“Giving your employees the flexibility to make their own working condition decisions is a proven way to retain staff, but also to retain happy and productive staff. Maintaining a positive and relaxed working environment will result in happier staff, and therefore an easier job for employers and team leaders alike.”

Not a “time for celebration”

Odette & Co director Odette Barry, who has one staff member and works with several freelancers, confirmed the choice is also available at her public relations firm. 

“Invasion Day simply isn’t a time for celebration. The option is on the table for the Odette & Co team to take the day to advocate and protest for First Nation’s voices while being paid in full, as well as taking a public holiday at their discretion at another time,” she told SmartCompany. 

Odette Barry, publicist and PR mentor at Odette & Co. Source: supplied.

Barry believes 2023 is going to be really important when it comes to acknowledging the experience of First Nations people. 

“With the Referendum for the Voice to Parliament on the table next year I believe we all have a responsibility for our collective history and to ensure future Indigenous communities have a say in the policy and legal decisions that impact their lives,” she said.

“As we would in a business or PR strategy, we engage with the stakeholders, our target audiences about what they think and feel about our products and services. When we listen, engage and understand our customers, we build better solutions. 

“Similarly, the same should be offered to First Nations people. We should create a platform for their voices to be heard and engaged with on issues that affect them, this will result in better solutions and less misspending on solutions that don’t fit the needs.”

The sheer number of small businesses in Australia — 96% of all businesses across the country are small — and the 4.8 million people they employ, means they will play an important role “in creating change and impacting the way people think about feel about the referendum”, says Barry.

“Small business owners hold a huge opportunity to create change, which I think is really exciting,” she said. 

“Providing flexibility for staff to self-determine when they take public holiday leave, and to be able to acknowledge and advocate for social issues is an easy way for us to attract and retain staff who are looking for employment that aligns with their values.”