Insurance firm Aviva (pictured), car manufacturer Rolls-Royce and telecommunications organisation Vodafone are among the 23 organisations in the FTSE 100 that publish details about maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay and leave policies, according to research by parenting website Mumsnet.
In analysing the UK’s top 100 organisations, Mumsnet found that only 23 visibly publicise pay and leave arrangements for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave. The group of employers that publish this information includes real estate organisation Rightmove, the Royal Bank of Scotland and water utility Severn Trent.
A corresponding survey, conducted by Mumsnet in February 2019, found that 82% of parents and prospective parents are reluctant to ask potential employers about parental leave arrangements because it might impact the likelihood of receiving a job offer. However, 84% of those surveyed stated that knowing about these policies is important when applying for a new job.
The 23 organisations that publish details about their parental leave policies, in alphabetical order, are:
- Admiral
- Aviva
- BHP
- BP
- British American Tobacco
- BT
- Croda International
- Diageo
- Direct Line
- Experian
- Johnson Matthey
- Reckitt Benckiser
- Rio Tinto
- Rightmove
- Rolls-Royce
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Royal Dutch Shell
- Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust
- Severn Trent
- SSE
- Standard Chartered
- Unilever
- Vodafone
Justine Roberts, founder at Mumsnet, said: “This information is unbelievably significant for parents; people need transparency so that they can make informed decisions, and it’s baffling that so many [organisations] make it so difficult to find, given that it significantly affects people’s lives.
“If more [organisations] were to publish their policies, it could well encourage a race to the top and would certainly reward employers [that] do the right thing. It’s bizarre that some of the UK’s largest employers feel the need to tell people about their wellbeing libraries, but not their parental leave policies.”