Automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has extended its 52 weeks of fully paid maternity leave to cover adoption and surrogacy.
The organisation, which has offered 52 weeks maternity leave at full pay for more than 20 years, has extended this to include adoption and surrogacy as part of its recognition that the journey to parenthood takes many different routes and to address the evolving needs of employees.
JLR also launched a new neonatal care leave policy, from 1 April, to offer employees an additional 12 weeks of paid leave if their newborn babies need neonatal care. This brings the total leave for maternity, adoption and surrogacy to 64 weeks for eligible parents.
The employer has gone beyond government legislation by providing neonatal leave pay for the first six weeks, which matches employees’ regular earnings.
The orgabisation also offers four weeks’ paid paternity leave for parents with secondary care rights, who also benefit from the neonatal policy, in order to break down barriers and promote a safe and inclusive working environment.
Laura Coombs-Fellowes, senior consultant in the diversity, equity and inclusion team at JLR, said: “Knowing that I have this time to spend with my new baby without having to worry about a decline in my monthly salary is a privilege and I’m very grateful. This will be my first maternity leave as my wife carried our first daughter, and I can’t wait to be able to enjoy this next year knowing I’ll also have the support when I return to work.”
In order to support employees at different stages of their lives and beyond their transition back into the workplace, JLR has an onsite nursery that operates for 11 hours a day. It also has wellbeing centres, flexible-working policies and inclusive menopause support so working parents can maintain a balance between work, family, and personal wellbeing.
