Vodafone New Zealand has just announced a groundbreaking new Paid Parental Leave policy that extends support above and beyond the law to help its working parents. The move will make it much easier for mums and dads at the company to juggle their professional careers with raising their children.
Under the new policy, primary caregivers will get full pay while working a 30-hour week during the first six months of returning to work. This means new parents will get to spend an extra day at home each week with their little ones, without worrying about lost income. Plus, expectant mums will be offered 16 weeks of paid leave.
The new maternity policy comes into effect on April 1, the same day the government will introduce changes to the Paid Parental Leave scheme, extending it from 14 weeks to 16 weeks.
Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners says the policy reflects the emphasis the company places on family values. “Family is important to us,” Stanners says in a statement, “and we’re always looking for ways to make things easier for our mums and caregivers. Through our new policy, we estimate a working parent could save around $1800 in childcare in their first six months back and be able to spend an additional 240 hours with their child.” The saving is calculated from an estimated childcare cost in Auckland of $75 per day.
What do you think of this new policy? Would you like to see more Kiwi companies adopting it?
