“We’re introducing an unlimited leave policy for new moms and dads that allows them to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption”, the company announced in a statement posted Tuesday.
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The plan comes in as nothing new, with a number of companies having identical policies regarding offering maternity or paternity leaves to parents.
The company already offers an unlimited time off policy.
“The policy itself is very encouraging for employees”, says Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania.
Improving benefits is a relatively low-priced way for employers to boost morale and retain workers, says Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist for Glassdoor.com, a website that has compiled more than 6 million employee reviews of companies across all industries.
One issue with parental leave programs is creating an environment in which employees feel comfortable taking the time offered, said Rich Fuerstenberg, a senior partner at Mercer.
But starting November 1, all 12 weeks will be paid, and mothers will receive a total of 20 weeks. “But, it’d be nice if every company could do it”. They are now eligible for six weeks paid time off.
Facebook, Google, Apple and YouTube all have extended maternity leave policies ranging from 14 weeks of leave up to 18 weeks. As a way to encourage women to both work and have babies, countries began offering paid maternity leave.
Still, unlimited parental and vacation leave has its share of critics.
The policy will apply to the first year that a child is born or adopted. At the Hacker Lab in Sacramento, Bryan Barton, who works out of the co-working space, said he thinks companies use parental leave as a way to draw in new employees. Nobody wants to be the company left behind..
What will the decision mean for other employers?
Regardless of what a company wants to give in terms of leave on its own accord, in-house counsel should be looking to the future and how the actual law around time off for new parents may change. In fact, the US stands alone among wealthy countries in not providing paid maternity leave.
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They also had to skimp on groceries and cut back on going out in order to set aside money for the leave.
