Your benefits and wellbeing
Our commitment to our employees.
We believe our work environment and benefits are testament to our commitment to our employees. At Westpac Group we understand that wellbeing is individual, and look at employees’ wellbeing holistically focusing on five key pillars:
- Family & Community
- Finances
- Health
- Values
- Work
We recognise the continued blurring of work and personal life, and the need to support our people as ‘whole-beings’. Below is a breakdown of some of our benefits and wellbeing highlights.
Benefits
Flexible working
All roles at Westpac Group are open to consider flexible working arrangements, with potential options such as flexible hours, working remotely, part time work, or job share.
Up to 12 weeks additional leave each year
We offer 12 weeks of flexible lifestyle leave giving employees the option to take up to 12 weeks' paid leave each year, through Westpac Group’s purchased leave program, or 12 weeks' unpaid leave each year.
Paid parental leave
Employees who are the primary carer of their child are given 13 weeks’ paid parental and have the option to instead take 26 weeks’ leave at half pay. Employees who are the support carer are entitled to 2 weeks’ paid leave within the first month of the birth or adoption of their child. Up to 12 months’ unpaid grandparental leave is also available.
Career break leave
Career break leave between three and 12 months’ unpaid is available for employees to refresh, re-energise, attend to other responsibilities or pursue professional development or personal interests.
Superannuation on parental leave
Employees can apply for superannuation to be paid on up to two years' unpaid parental leave to help enhance the financial future of our working parents.
Domestic violence support leave
We offer 10 days of domestic violence support leave for employees experiencing domestic violence and carers supporting loved ones in these circumstances.
Lifestyle leave
Employees have the option of accessing one paid wellbeing and lifestyle leave day and one community day per year. Additional benefits are also available to eligible employees for sporting and defence force leave. Employees transitioning to retirement can also access an additional three days’ paid leave to pursue retirement related activities.
Leading offerings to enhance your wellbeing
We offer a range of special Westpac Group services including:
- Free nutrition advice
- Free employee counselling and coaching service for you and your family
- Access to wellbeing resources, training and development
- End of trip facilities (selected locations).
Valuable savings on banking products and services
Employees and their families can take advantage of discounts on a wide range of Westpac Group’s banking and wealth products and services including when purchasing or insuring a home or a car, or saving for the future. Importantly, employees are still able to take advantage of this even after they move on from the company. In 2017, these benefits were also made available to our Contractor employees, who are now able to also take advantage of employee offers.
Third Party Partner savings
Our third party Employee Benefits Program is increasingly popular with employees and is accessible via a mobile-friendly portal, providing 24/7 access to great offers and discounts from well-known brands. With over 1.3 million logins over the past 12 months our employees clearly love the offerings.
Community secondments to Indigenous communities
Westpac Group employees in Australia have a unique opportunity to participate in a life-changing secondment to Indigenous Australian communities. Employees can apply to take up a paid placement for six weeks, or in some cases up to 12 weeks, in either an urban, regional or remote Indigenous community. Organised in partnership with Jawun Indigenous Corporate Partnerships, these secondments are a practical way for Westpac employees to experience enormous personal and professional growth while making contributions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Since 2001, Westpac Group has supported over 730 employees to take part in the Jawun secondment program, and we have committed to an additional 45 secondments in 2018.
Up to $10,000 AUD matched donations to employees’ favourite charities
All employees in Australia are able to take part in Westpac Group’s matching gifts program, where the Group will match an employee’s charitable donations dollar-for-dollar to any Australian-based, tax deductible registered charity, up to $10,000 AUD per year per employee. In 2017, around half of all employees across the Group participated in Matching Gifts, either by making an individual donation or by participating in one of the 350-plus fundraising events held by teams across Australia. Through this program, we have collectively donated just over $56 million to almost 2,000 charities across Australia since the program began in 1998.
Sustainability
Westpac Group’s 2018-2020 Sustainability Strategy outlines our commitment to building a sustainable future by taking action in the areas where we can have the greatest impact. We provide our employees with access to learning opportunities to help build the skills needed for the workforce of the future.
Employee Action Groups
Our Employee Action Groups (EAGs) support and encourage Westpac Group's diverse and inclusive workplace for our people to prosper and grow. They foster member development and promote awareness of group interests at corporate, community and individual levels. Employees are able to become members of a diverse range of action groups across categories including Gender Equality, Cultural Diversity, Generations, Flexible Employment, GLOBAL for LGBTI, ABLE for accessibility, Anti-Family Violence and Defence Veterans.