It is widely acknowledged and well documented that employees’ family circumstances can significantly impact their working life and career development. Balancing family and working life can be particularly challenging for those starting a family and raising young children in the early stages of their careers. That is why it is important for the university to offer attractive, family-friendly working conditions for staff who are going on parental leave or have young children; both for the individual employee and for AU’s ability to attract and retain highly skilled members of staff.
AU has a well-defined policy framework, based on legislation and collective agreements, to support employees in achieving a better balance between work and family life. The aim of the policy framework is to ensure that:
This initiative comprises four activities. Each activity addresses a key issue related to work and family life. A working group will be set up for each activity. The working groups will identify and describe the challenges related to the issue in question and draw up recommendations for how to tackle these challenges.
A working group will be established for each of the four activities. The senior management team will approve the composition of the working groups and the terms of reference for their work. The working groups will draw on relevant experience from the faculties and administrative units.
Each working group will issue recommendations, which will be reviewed by AU's Committee for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. The recommendations will then be presented to the senior management team as a decision-making proposal, which will also outline suggested next steps.
The Rector's Office will be responsible for the project management of Initiative 1.