Lloyds Banking Group has launched an enhanced shared parental leave (SPL) policy for eligible employees.
The policy will be offered alongside its current maternity, paternity and adoption policies, as enhanced pay compared to the statutory minimum amount set out in the SPL legislation.
The enhanced terms will be available for both parents to share if converted into SPL, if both work for Lloyds Banking Group and meet eligibility criteria.
Under its existing maternity conditions, female employees on maternity leave receive their full salary for the first seven weeks, half pay for another 20 weeks, followed by 12 weeks statutory maternity pay.
In cases where one of the parents works for the banking organisation, amount of maternity/adoptive leave and pay already taken by the mother/primary carer will be deducted to calculate how much pay and leave is still available to share with their partner.
Fiona Cannon, group director of diversity and inclusion at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This new policy is a strong demonstration of our commitment to create a diverse and inclusive organisation for all staff.
It is also a real investment in our colleagues and supports our desire to building the best team and becoming an employer of choice by ensuring working parents are supported at important times in their lives.
“We are aware that increasingly both men and women want to balance the demands of their career with caring for their children. The enhanced policy will offer greater choice and flexibility for mothers, fathers, and same sex partners, while helping us to achieve our business goals.”
Shared parental leave, which came into effect on 1 December 2014 and applies to the parents of children due to be born or placed for adoption from 5 April 2015, gives working parents more flexibility in the way they choose to share the responsibility of care for their child during the first 12 months after birth or adoption.
It also enables mothers and primary adopters to transfer some of their maternity or adoption leave and pay entitlements into SPL, making it available to share with fathers and same sex partners.
