Cosmetics and wellbeing retail organisation L'Occitane has announced the upcoming launch of a global parental leave policy to support working families.
The new policy, being initially implemented at the organisation's global headquarters in Switzerland in the coming months, will give primary caregivers a minimum of 20 weeks of paid leave, a significant increase from the 12 weeks provided previously. Secondary caregivers will be given a minimum of 12 weeks of paid leave.
This new benefit will apply to all L'Occitane employees worldwide, and will be available whether they become parents by birth, through adoption, or via surrogacy. The policy is set to be implemented globally by April 2022.
With women currently making up 87% of L'Occitane's workforce, the new policy aligns with the employer's commitment to attract and advance female employees. The organisation also plans to further develop its flexible working policy and support programmes for staff returning to work after leave.
Armelle Saint-Raymond, group HR vice-president at L'Occitane, said: "‘Empowering women is a core value of L’Occitane. Our new, inclusive global parental leave is a major stepforward in our ambitious programme towards gender parity within the [organisation], aiming to help employees to balance parenthood and [a] career and increase diversity within teams, resulting in better business performance overall."
