What is enhanced parental leave?

Why do companies offer enhanced parental leave?

Being a new parent is exhausting; from giving birth to the lack of sleep and adjusting to a new home environment. As an employer, increasing your gesture of goodwill makes it more likely for an employee to return to work after their period of leave, whilst feeling a little more refreshed. 

Not only does it help to improve employee retention and reduce the associated recruitment costs, but it also makes employers more attractive to new candidates. Employers confirm the benefits of offering enhanced parental leave outweigh those additional costs.

1. Retention and loyalty: Enhanced parental leave policies contribute to higher employee retention rates and create loyalty among employees. When companies provide ample time off for new parents, it shows that they value their employees' well-being and support their life outside of work. This can lead to increased job satisfaction and a stronger commitment to the company.
2. Attracting top talent: Competitive parental leave policies help companies attract top talent, especially in industries where work-life balance and family support are important considerations for job seekers. Potential candidates are more likely to be drawn to companies that offer generous parental leave benefits, seeing it as a reflection of the company's values and culture.
3. Promoting diversity and inclusion: Enhanced parental leave policies contribute to a more inclusive workplace by accommodating the needs of employees at different stages of their lives. By offering equal parental leave opportunities to all employees, regardless of gender or family structure, companies can promote gender equality, support working parents, and create a more diverse workforce.

Flexa verified companies offering enhanced parental leave

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave refers to policies offered by employers that go beyond the statutory minimum requirements for parental leave. These enhanced policies typically provide employees with additional time off, increased pay during leave, or other benefits that support new parents during the transition to parenthood. By empowering employees to take more time off work to bond with their new child, employers can help parents to achieve a better relationship between their work and family responsibilities. Here are some companies leading the way with their enhanced parental leave.

SilverRail Technologies, on enhanced maternity and paternity leave 

At SilverRail, we prioritise the well-being and needs of our employees at every stage of their journey to parenthood. From fertility challenges to pregnancy, adoption, and beyond, our advanced parental leave policies are designed to provide comprehensive support and flexibility. We understand the emotional and physical toll of fertility treatments and offer knowledge sessions and fertility testing through Hertility as well as dedicated flexibility around further fertility appointments, empowering employees to prioritise their family-building efforts without sacrificing their careers. Throughout pregnancy, expectant parents receive support, flexible work arrangements, and accommodations tailored to their needs. Additionally, our policies extend to provide compassionate support for pregnancy loss, generous adoption leave to facilitate bonding, and the promotion of shared parental leave to foster gender equality and work-life balance. Through these initiatives, we strive to create an inclusive workplace where all employees feel supported, valued, and empowered to navigate the joys and challenges of parenthood.

“To a company considering rolling out advanced parental leave policies but hesitating, I would emphasise the importance of supporting employees both professionally and personally. By offering comprehensive parental leave benefits, the company demonstrates a commitment to its employees' well-being beyond the office walls. This sends a powerful message that employees are valued as whole individuals, not just for their contributions to the company.”

Victoria Bacon, Senior Global Talent & Culture Manager @ SilverRail

Mars, on their parental leave policy 

There are also so many other incredible Flexa verified companies offering enhanced maternity and paternity leave. Here are some of them you can check out.

10 companies offering enhanced maternity and paternity leave in 2024

1. ClearBank: ClearBank is a fast-growing clearing bank operating entirely in a cloud-based environment.
2. BT Business: With over 175 years of heritage, BT is the flagship business brand of BT Group. They are a B2B powerhouse serving 1.2 million business customers internationally. 
3. Virgin Media 02: Virgin Media O2 is an award-winning fibre broadband provider and telecommunications company. They manage 47 million UK connections across broadband, mobile, TV, and home phone, with around 18,000 colleagues working hard to provide the best connectivity to our valued customers.
4. Adaptavist Group: The Adaptavist Group are experts at delivering innovative software, tailored solutions, and quality services across some of the world’s most trusted technology ecosystems, including Atlassian, AWS, Slack, monday.com, Aha!, GitLab, and many more. 
5. Airbus: Airbus designs, manufactures and delivers industry-leading commercial aircraft, helicopters, military transports, satellites, launchers and more.
6. Atom Bank: Atom are the UK's first app-based bank. They've been making banking as effortless as possible ever since they launched.
7. Brit Insurance: Brit is a leading global specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on underwriting complex risks.
8. Camunda: Camunda enables organisations to orchestrate processes across people, systems, and devices to overcome complexity and increase efficiency.
9. Hurree: Hurree is the smarter, simpler way to analyze data. Their platform transform complex data into clear, actionable insights, empowering businesses to become their own data analyst.
10. Mars UK: Mars produces some of the world’s best-loved brands. Mars’ team of 140,000+ associates are taking action every day toward the world we want tomorrow.

You can view the full list here.