Supporting employees during Sorry Business

Sorry Business is a community and cultural tradition for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples when mourning the loss of a family member. This period can involve ceremonies, funerals and other cultural events within the community. 

In order to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees during a time that brings significant grief and emotional challenges, Thales Australia has introduced Sorry Business Leave. 

While all employees have access to leave provisions during difficult and traumatic times, introducing Sorry Business Leave is an important step in acknowledging the diverse needs and requirements of all employees. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees will receive up to five days paid leave for each occasion where there is a death of an immediate family member or extended kin/family.

This years’ NAIDOC Week theme was to ‘Get up, stand up and show up’ – a call to action to support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative and cooperative reforms. Thales Australia chose this week to launch Sorry Business Leave to signal our commitment to reforming the way we support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees – James Couche, Vice President Legal and Contracts at Thales Australia and Executive Sponsor, Thales Australia Reconciliation Action Plan Committee 

Implementing Sorry Business Leave is an important step in our journey to Reconciliation, and signals our commitment to providing provisions that meet the specific needs of employees. In times of grief and difficulty, we want all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at Thales to feel supported and ‘seen,’ through leave that specifically acknowledges important cultural practices. 

At a time of great emotional challenge, it is great to know that Thales acknowledges the importance of culture and the responsibilities that are Sorry Business.  Support like this makes life’s responsibilities much easier to manage and makes Thales feel like a safer and better place to work. – Thales Australia Reconciliation Action Plan Committee Member 

We spoke with Yorta Yorter Elder, Uncle Lance James on the importance of Sorry Business – you can watch this video below.