Young pet owners most likely to take annual leave for fur babies

AUSTRALIA’S Gen Y workers treat their dogs and cats like children, and those with pets are five times more likely to take leave for them.

IN another example of young Australians treating their dogs and cats like children, one in five Gen Y pet owners say they have taken time off work to care for a new fur baby.

New research by finder.com.au finds one in 10 Aussies (11.5 per cent) have taken paw-ternity leave when bringing their new kitten or puppy home for the first time.

Rates are highest among Gen Y workers, at 21 per cent.

They are almost twice as likely to do so as Gen X workers (12 per cent) and five times as likely as Baby Boomers (4 per cent).

Bessie Hassan, insurance expert at finder.com.au, says workplace flexibility is now more common and encouraged in the corporate world, and not just for parents of two-legged children.

“With more couples waiting until later in life to start a family, pets can often become surrogate children,” she says.

“It’s no wonder, in that case, that pet owners are going to new lengths to take care of their beloved furry family members – investing in everything from organic treats to pet insurance.”

One in five young pet owners have taken time off work to care for their cat or dog. Picture: iStock.

In most situations, workers need to take annual leave to care for a new pet.

The Fair Work Ombudsman stipulates paid personal/carer’s leave can be taken to provide care or support to a member of a worker’s immediate family but defines family members as “a spouse, de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee; or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee’s spouse or de facto partner” – no mention of pets.

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Courtney Walter, 29, is a senior digital designer at an advertising agency and both she and her partner spent a week of annual leave helping their Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, Whopper, adjust to their home.

Gen Y worker Courtney Walter and her puppy, Whopper. Picture: Supplied

“We spend eight hours a day both at work and that would be full-on for a little puppy so we thought we would spend the week training him and getting him in the house,” she says.

“We planned out the five days we had off with him so we could leave him for three hours, then four and half and keep building up, rather than one day we are there and next day we are gone.”

Even after returning to work, Walter planned to pop back home in her lunch breaks for a week or so to check on Whopper.

She says pet-friendly work policies, such as the ability to bring dogs into the office, would not be a deal-breaker for her when choosing her next workplace but would definitely go in the “pro list”.

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