Employees – both male and female – will be eligible for 16 weeks’ leave at full pay
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Insurance giant Aviva has confirmed the introduction of an impressive new family perk – 16 weeks’ parental leave for male and female employees, at full pay.
“We think this is one of the most ground-breaking, family-friendly policies offered by any employer,” said Sarah Morris, chief people officer at Aviva.
“It’s time to equalise parental leave and create a level playing field for men and women who want to take time out from their career to spend with their family,” she added.
The innovative policy is open to all employees regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how they became a parent – for example via birth, surrogacy or adoption – but must be taken within the first 12 months of a child’s life.
The entitlement also includes an equal amount of unpaid parental leave when the child arrives and is available to both full-time and part-time employees across all levels of the company with no requirement to share the parental leave between parents.
Incredibly, if both parents are employees of Aviva, they will each have their own entitlement to leave and pay, which they can take at the same time.
Mark Wilson, group CEO at Aviva, said the initiative was not only the right thing to do, but also a savvy business decision.
”I want to live in a world where the only criteria for success is someone’s talent, not their gender,” he said. “Treating parents equally will help make this happen. We want Aviva to be a progressive, inclusive, welcoming place to work. It’s good for our people and it’s also good business sense."
While the initiative is undeniably impressive, it’s currently restricted to workers in Singapore, the UK, Ireland, France or Canada – however, the company has plans to extend the offer across the entire business before the end of 2018.
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“We think this is one of the most ground-breaking, family-friendly policies offered by any employer,” said Sarah Morris, chief people officer at Aviva.
“It’s time to equalise parental leave and create a level playing field for men and women who want to take time out from their career to spend with their family,” she added.
The innovative policy is open to all employees regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how they became a parent – for example via birth, surrogacy or adoption – but must be taken within the first 12 months of a child’s life.
The entitlement also includes an equal amount of unpaid parental leave when the child arrives and is available to both full-time and part-time employees across all levels of the company with no requirement to share the parental leave between parents.
Incredibly, if both parents are employees of Aviva, they will each have their own entitlement to leave and pay, which they can take at the same time.
Mark Wilson, group CEO at Aviva, said the initiative was not only the right thing to do, but also a savvy business decision.
”I want to live in a world where the only criteria for success is someone’s talent, not their gender,” he said. “Treating parents equally will help make this happen. We want Aviva to be a progressive, inclusive, welcoming place to work. It’s good for our people and it’s also good business sense."
While the initiative is undeniably impressive, it’s currently restricted to workers in Singapore, the UK, Ireland, France or Canada – however, the company has plans to extend the offer across the entire business before the end of 2018.
Related stories:
IKEA rolls out extended paternal leave for employees in Southeast Asia
Global law firm joins rising trend of extended parental leave