Vodafone gives returning parents five days' pay for four days' work
Telco does the right thing by parents, and it's a smart business play, too.
Vodafone NZ will offer parents returing from maternity leave five days' pay for four days' work.
The new policy will come into force on April 1 as part of a global push by the multinational.
April 1 is also the date the government's paid parental scheme will be expanded from the current 14 weeks to 16 weeks. The scheme replaces an employee’s earnings up to a maximum payment of $488.17 a week before tax. Vodafone will top that up to full pay.
“Family is important to us and we’re always looking for ways to make things easier for our mums and caregivers. Juggling career, family and life can be tricky, so we want caregivers in our organisation to know we offer both support and flexibility when they choose to return to work to progress their careers," says Vodafone CEO Russell Stanners.
It also happens to be good business.
The company wants to attract and retain talented women and recognises that providing a compelling maternity policy is key, Stanners says.
“At the moment, 37% of our employees in New Zealand are female, with women making up 38% of our senior leadership team. We believe this new maternity policy will play an important role in helping to increase those figures,” he adds.
And although he doesn't say it, the fact there's a worldwide shortage of skilled tech sector staff might have helped gee things along.
Vodafone also argues it makes sense for the economy overall (check out its "maternomics" clip here).
Labour was quick to seize on Vodafone's initiative.
“Vodafone has done the right thing by supporting parents in their workforce, in a way that the National government has refused to do,” Labour's spokesperson for Women's Affairs Sue Moroney says.
“Vodafone's announcement of six months’ paid parental leave for its employees is more evidence of the strong support for Labour's efforts to extend paid parental leave."
Possibly. But National can point to the fact Vodafone has expanded its maternity care provisions under the current regime – though of course, not every business has Vodafone's wherewithal.
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Vodafone gives returning parents five days' pay for four days' work
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