March 2004

Awards recognise employers who show compassion

Twelve Victorian employers have been recognised for compassion to their employees after the death of a loved one.

The inaugural Compassionate Employer Awards were auspiced by The Compassionate Friends Victoria and Rotary Club of Geelong Central.

President of TCF Victoria Barbara Summers said employers who had gone beyond the normal policies of most companies in helping employees who had suffered the death of a loved one deserved to be recognised.

The Compassionate Employer Recognition Award was established to motivate organisations and companies throughout Victoria to strive for empathetic practices towards bereaved employees.

Criteria for Compassionate Employer Recognition were:

• Employer who has personally supported the employee after bereavement;

• Those who arranged for additional time off, beyond the familiar three days bereavement leave;

• Those who provided support services and/or time off to obtain counselling or seek a support group;

• Caring attitude and ability to empathise demonstrated by employer’s entire workforce;

• Those who showed flexibility in work assignments and evaluation of job performance during the stress and personal pain associated with the death of a loved one;

• Other acts of compassion that the bereaved will remember forever.

The companies recognised were Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Traralgon), Centrelink (Box Hill), Castlemaine North Primary School, Warracknabeal Amcal pharmacy, Colorpak Packaging, Amcor Flexibles Australasia (Moorabbin), Tara Age Care Facility (Geelong), Monash University (Peninsula Campus), Birralee Child Care Centre (Korumburra), St Francis Xavier College (Berwick and Beaconsfield), Australian Pacific Touring and Ambassador Property Services.

The awards were supported by Melbourne Zoo, Belgair Graphics, Box Hill Institute and Artistic Foods.