New home warranty and insurance organisation NHBC has equalised its parental leave benefit for 1,260 staff, offering up to 13 weeks of parental leave at full pay for male and female employees.
The enhanced policy, which is effective for babies due on or after 4 August 2019, will enable both male and female employees who have at least 26 weeks' continuous service 15 weeks prior to their baby’s due date to take at least 13 weeks of leave at full pay, followed by 26 weeks of leave at statutory maternity pay or statutory shared parental pay. Staff are able to take up to a year of leave in total.
Steve Wood, chief executive officer at NHBC, said: “I’m delighted that NHBC is equalising the leave benefit we offer for anyone welcoming a new addition to their family.
“We believe that all parents, mums, dads and carers, should be given the chance to spend time bonding with their child in the early days and that’s why we are equalising and improving our maternity, paternity and adoption leave for anyone welcoming a new addition to their family.”
The Milton Keynes-based business has extended its parental leave provision in order to help it achieve its ambition of becoming a diverse and inclusive organisation.
Previously, NHBC operated a two-tier maternity and paternity policy. Employees with more than 26 weeks service but less than two years total tenure were entitled to six weeks of maternity leave at the higher of 100% of normal pay or 90% of their weekly earnings plus a further 33 weeks at statutory maternity pay. Male employees with the same length of service could take one or two weeks of paternity leave at full pay.
Maternity leave for employees with two or more years' continuous service was set at 13 weeks of leave at the higher of 100% of normal pay or 90% of their weekly earnings, followed by 33 weeks of leave at statutory maternity pay. Paternity leave for employees with two years of service or more remained at one or two weeks of leave at full pay.
To communicate the new policy, which is also applicable for adoptive parents, NHBC created a video featuring employees and their families; this was circulated via email and an intranet article. A shorter version of the video was also shared on the organisation’s social media channels.
Anne Durkin, executive sponsor for diversity and inclusion at NHBC, said: “New parents want to make important decisions for themselves and we recognise this as an important factor in attracting and retaining talented people.
“Equalising our maternity, paternity and adoption leave supports our staff, so they can spend all the time they need with their family while still having a successful career at NHBC, regardless of gender of circumstance.”
Zoe Mills, HR manager at NHBC, added: “Combined with our holiday [purchase] scheme and our always happy to talk flexible working approach, we are firmly establishing NHBC as a modern, family-friendly workplace and a leading employer of choice for all kinds of people, right across the UK.”
