Recruitment firm Hays has introduced one week of paid carer’s leave in order to support its staff across the UK and Ireland who have caring responsibilities.
The paid leave can be taken as one week, or flexibly as half or full days. All staff, regardless of their length of service, are entitled to the leave from their first day of employment.
The aim of the new policy is to go beyond the government’s introduction of one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year, which came into place in April, and to provide additional help for carer employees.
Hays has also introduced several areas of support for carers, including the Hays Carer’s Forum which allows staff to connect to fellow carers and access drop-in sessions on support topics. In addition, its carer employees can access a free Care Concierge telephone service via Legal and General, that offers instant access to care options.
Trisha Brookes, director of people and culture at Hays UK and Ireland, said: “We’re truly committed to building a culture that allows our staff to thrive at work and at home, and this means introducing demonstrable support initiatives that work at the times in our employees lives we know can present a challenge.
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“Recognising the vital role that carers play in our society is key and our new policy aims to further support our staff to be able to balance their caring responsibilities with work. In addition, we’re continuing to work with our caring community at Hays to understand what other resources and support it would be useful for them to have access to in a bid to help their caring commitments.”
This announcement follows Hays introducing the Sonder platform back in April to make it easier for its employees to access 24/7 medical, mental health and personal safety support.