The company has been recognised for its flexible work scheme
Insurance company IAG New Zealand has launched a new gender-neutral parental leave benefit that will give primary caregivers an additional 14 weeks of paid leave. According to the company, this is separate from the 26 weeks of paid leave allowance given to primary caregivers from the government.
"Having gender-neutral parental leave benefits are a small way we're helping to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. It enables the parents, not the organisation or government, to choose who the primary caregiver will be during the first twelve months of a baby being born," said IAG New Zealand chief executive Amanda Whiting.
Secondary carers, on the other hand, will be given three weeks of fully paid leave, which can be extended to five more weeks of unpaid leave, it said in a media release.
"When we were designing these leave benefits, we were conscious that we wanted to create a set of benefits that were flexible and adaptable to each of our employee's unique situations," Whiting said.
According to the chief executive, the leave benefits will better support their teams and their families, stressing that it is important for the company to make its people feel supported as they become parents.
"Becoming a parent, including through surrogacy or adoption, is exciting and wonderful, but can also be a time of financial stress. We hope that through this package, our people will be provided with the flexibility and support they need to manage this significant time in their lives," she added.
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Level 4 FlexReady company
IAG's move to launch a new leave package for parents is only one of its steps to help working parents juggle with work-life balance.
The company has also been pioneering with flexible working arrangement, which was recently awarded with a level 4 FlexReady certification by Flex Careers, becoming the only New Zealand company to receive the recognition.
"We want our people to know they have our support, whatever stage of life they're at. For us, taking parental leave or moving to flexi-time is absolutely part of everyday life at IAG," said Whiting.
The chief executive added that having a flexible working arrangement is "particularly helpful" not only for working parents, but also for employees who might need to take care of an elderly relative or have community or volunteer obligations.
"It's clear that work is no longer a traditional 9-5 arrangement," said Whiting. "There are so many benefits of having a flexible and dynamic approach to the way we work, which is why we provide our people with a range of options like flexible hours, job sharing, secondments, and career break."
The new parental leave and flexible work scheme for caregivers is part of the company's newly launched "Circle In" digital platform, which offers support for carers such as giving them a search engine for local childcare services.
"Being a caregiver doesn't stop once people come back to work after parental leave," said Whiting.