Equally popular is a dedicated support network through which working parents can connect with each another across the accountancy firm, plus a parenting intranet site that carries useful information for working families. Childcare vouchers are available through provider Edenred.
Following a provider switch from Bright Horizons to My Family Care last year, Deloitte’s staff now have access to extra school holiday and elder care cover, as well as emergency childcare cover.
Deloitte also offers employer-funded support, including enhanced maternity pay. Last year, it replaced a £6,000 return-to work bonus for new mothers with a pay structure that sees staff on maternity leave receive statutory maternity pay (SMP) plus full pay during their first 16 weeks’ leave; 50% of pay in weeks 17 to 26; and SMP for weeks 27 to 39, subject to certain eligibility criteria. This change was in response to staff feedback, which suggested the cash would be more useful from the outset of employees’ leave.
Stevan Rolls, head of HR at Deloitte, says: “Every organisation will tell you that retaining talented women and working parents provides challenges. For us, the key thing is we want to hold on to our best people, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to be able to run their lives outside of work as well as inside of work, and this package of benefits helps them to do just that.”
