Retail bank TSB has announced a?new?employee??support package for?new parents, those affected by parental or pregnancy-related bereavement?and those experiencing menopause or infertility.
The policy will enable new primary and co-parents, as well as adoptive parents, to take up to a year of leave to spend with their child, with 20 weeks at full pay. Primary parents will be eligible?for this?from day one of?their employment, while?co-parents?will need to have been in their roles for a minimum of six months.
At least two weeks of compassionate leave on full pay is available for anyone affected by parental or pregnancy-related bereavement or loss. TSB has signed up to the Pregnancy Loss Pledge to create a supportive work environment for people affected by the trauma.
The business, which has also recently?signed the?Menopause Workplace Pledge?as part of?its? Do What Matters Plan and commitment to building an inclusive culture, has additionally put in place a new support initiative for members of staff experiencing menopause.
As part of its acknowledgement that more than half of the?population will go through the menopause, which?will affect almost everyone else by association, the bank has developed a menopause toolkit with a range of resources available through its?partnership with Bupa. There is also specific guidance on offer for managers to enable them to assist staff experiencing menopause and?to ensure everyone has the support they need.
The bank said it had also developed infertility-related support when attending fertility appointments, with a mixture of paid and unpaid leave. Support is accessible to employees and is fully gender inclusive.
Liz Ashford, human resources director at TSB, explained that as well as being an important step in establishing an inclusive workplace, extending and equalising paid leave for parents levels the playing field at work and removes any barriers to career progression.
“We also want to offer our colleagues compassionate and relevant policies for when they are experiencing challenging moments in their lives. Our new policies around pregnancy loss, parental bereavement, infertility and menopause are designed to give colleagues the support they need when it matters most,” she said.
