Development, building and property maintenance firm Wates Group has enhanced its paternity and partner leave and carers leave policies, effective immediately.
Following employee feedback, the group has increased its fully-paid paternity leave provision from eight weeks to 12 in order to reinforce its commitment to supporting its staff and their families.
Employees can take this leave at any point within the first two years of the child being born or adopted, and it can be taken in blocks to provide the choice of flexing it in a way that works for them, their families and their teams. It is now a day-one employment entitlement.
By offering 12 weeks of paid leave, the group aims to not only recognise the importance of family time to its employees, but also promote gender equality in caregiving responsibilities. The provision is ahead of the industry average, which currently stands at eight weeks of fully paid paternity leave, and the statutory entitlement of up to two weeks.
In addition, Wates Group has made its maternity, shared parental leave and adoption and surrogacy policies a day-one employment entitlement, and it has also enhanced its carers leave policy. It originally offered four weeks of unpaid carer leave, which has now been increased to include one week of paid leave and three weeks unpaid leave from day one of employment.
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Nikunj Upadhyay, group inclusion and diversity director at Wates Group, said: “I am delighted that we are continuing to improve our family-friendly offerings, especially our paternity and partner leave. These enhancements signal our commitment to creating an equitable, supportive, fair and inclusive work environment.
“Our people promise is that our employees feel invested in and cared for. These offerings help us fulfil that promise by enabling employees to be with their families during important times and be their best at work as well. That is how we support all staff to thrive.”