Technology organisation Microsoft New Zealand has enhanced its family leave benefits, including the launch of a new fully-paid family time-away policy and the extension of its parental leave policies.
The new time-away policy will entitle all employees to four weeks’ fully-paid leave a year to provide staff with time off work to take care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition. All employees will be able to access this benefit as soon as they join the organisation.
Primary and secondary caregiver leave policies, which are applicable for all parents, have also been extended. Microsoft New Zealand has increased its primary caregiver leave from six weeks to 20 weeks, and increased its secondary caregiver leave from two weeks to six weeks. Both arrangements are fully paid, and are available to employees who are parents through birth, adoption or a foster relationships.
The leave policies have been designed to support a culture of diversity and inclusion, and to provide staff with flexibility to manage and balance their professional and personal lives.
Barrie Sheers, managing director at Microsoft New Zealand, said: “We ask our people to bring their best every day to support our mission, however we realise that there are times when they also need to be fully present at home and able to dedicate their time to the wellbeing of their loved ones.
"Empowerment has always been at the core of our business and by looking after our employees, we’re able to retain and attract amazing talent and give them the flexibility to perform at their best.”
