HR gold: Leigh Creek Energy applauded for birthday holiday policy

Leigh Creek Energy has gained the attention for its unusual policy of offering employees the day off for their birthdays.

ABC Radio Adelaide's Sonya Feldhoff chatted with Leigh Creek Energy Human Resources Manager Noreen Byrne (pictured) to decipher why the company has chosen such a policy.

Leigh Creek Energy (LCK) began a Cultural Development Program around two years ago, which saw management speak to staff about what ideas and concepts they would like the company to put in place in order to build a strong culture.

Employees having a day off on their birthdays was one of the more popular answers, and was subsequently implemented. 

Byrne says a lot of people tend to feel guilty when they file for leave on their birthday, so the idea gives them a guilt-free day off. 

She said the policy has been well received with the company having a 98 per cent uptake of birthday RDOs during its first year. 

Aside from birthday's off, LCK also offers other leave privileges, such as annual Christmas leave and unlimited sick leave.

"Birthday day offs are a way for the company to thank individuals who work hard for the organisation," Byrne said. 

"But those three measures have actually decreased our rate of sick leave exponentially."

Feldhoff suggested paying for employees to have a day on their birthday may be an unnecessary burden for the company.

"Not really, because if you look at productivity of organisations these days, people are working many, many more hours unpaid," Byrne said.

"And when people are feeling fatigued or stressed, they often take extra sick leave.

"Being a small organisation, everybody goes above and beyond, so this is a small way of saying thank you."

Listen to the full interview at the link below.