Virgin Money has introduced a new benefits package for its more than 9,000 members of staff this month (November), featuring equal parental leave and flexibility in terms of where, when and how people work.
Also included in the provision is 30 days of annual leave and five additional wellbeing days each year. Along with bank holidays and the chance to buy up to five additional days of holiday, employees will have the opportunity to take almost 50 days away from work each year.
According to the business, all members of staff and new recruits will benefit from the package from day one of employment, including the parental leave benefits applicable to mothers, fathers and those looking to adopt. They will be able to take up to 20 weeks of fully paid leave and 52 weeks of leave overall, as well as having the flexibility to choose when to take it and when to receive pay.
In addition, all workers whose role is not dependant on a specific location will be able to request to work anywhere in the UK, removing geographical boundaries and to provide even more flexibility. Location criteria will be removed for any non-store and non-hub based roles that are recruited for in future, removing the location barrier for existing employees moving roles or new people joining the business.
Syreeta Brown, group chief people and communications officer at Virgin Money, explained that this underlines its commitment to providing a first-class employee experience that will translate to a differentiating experience for customers.
“It offers a leading position on equal parental leave, from the first day anyone joins the business, with flexibility on how and when people take that leave. And with the opportunity to take almost 50 days away from work each year and flexibility on job location, the new benefits package is tailored to the work-life balance people are looking for post-Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic,” Brown said.
