Empowering new parents with enhanced parental leave

Enhanced parental leave is becoming a key part of what makes a company truly family-friendly. In 2025, more employers are recognising that supporting working parents goes far beyond statutory requirements. Enhanced parental leave provides extra time, pay, and flexibility for new parents to bond with their child and adjust to life changes, while feeling supported by their workplace.

This blog includes:

• What enhanced parental leave means and how it differs from statutory leave
• Why enhanced parental leave is essential for supporting working parents
• The key benefits for both employees and employers
• How enhanced leave contributes to equality and retention in the workplace
• Examples of companies leading the way with family-friendly policies

What is enhanced parental leave?

Enhanced parental leave, often referred to as enhanced maternity and paternity leave, goes beyond the standard leave entitlements mandated by law. It gives new parents additional time off work to bond with their newborn or newly adopted child and support their family during this significant life transition. Unlike statutory parental leave policies, which may offer limited time off or minimal benefits, enhanced parental leave typically includes extended paid leave periods, flexible return-to-work options, and additional benefits such as childcare support or financial assistance.

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 

At Mars UK we believe that both parents are equally important to their child and to us as an employer. We are proud of our industry-leading Equal Parental Leave policy and the support it provides our Associates with family structures of all kinds. Our policy means any Associate who has more than 12 months' continuous service with Mars UK is eligible to 52 weeks parental leave, with 26 weeks paid at 90% when they become a parent.

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.

The best companies offering enhanced maternity and paternity leave in 2025

1. Northern : Northern connect tens of thousands of people in the North of England to work, leisure, education and more every day.
2. Vodafone: Vodafone is a leading international Telco serving 300 million customers. Their strong belief is that connectivity is a force for good. If we use it for the things that really matter, it can improve people's lives and the world around us.
3. ClearBank: ClearBank is a fast-growing clearing bank operating entirely in a cloud-based environment.
4. EY: At EY, their purpose is to build a better working world. Through the insights and services they provide, EY helps create long-term value for people and society while building trust and confidence in the capital markets.
5. BT Group: 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. 
6. 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.
7. 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. 
8. Airbus: Airbus designs, manufactures and delivers industry-leading commercial aircraft, helicopters, military transports, satellites, launchers and more.
9. Atom Bank: Atom are the UK's first app-based bank. They've been making banking as effortless as possible ever since they launched.
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.
11. NFU Mutual: NFU Mutual are a leading provider of General Insurance that also offer a variety of Financial Planning Services
12. NHBC: NHBC is the UK's leading provider of warranty and insurance for new-build homes. Their purpose is to raise standards in house building by championing high-quality homes and protecting homeowners. 

You can view the latest list here.

We know company benefits are important and often searching for a new job can be frustrating when you are unaware of a company’s culture and values upfront. For utter transparency, company benefits are clearly listed on company pages and job descriptions on Flexa, so you can see what a company offers before you even apply.