Halma announces equal paid parental leave for all its employees
01 October 2020
Halma is today launching a new global parental leave policy that is open to all its 7,000+ employees in over 20 countries, marking further progress towards its commitment to build fairer and more inclusive businesses.
The move from Halma comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated expectations of flexibility among employers and employees.
Effective today, the new policy allows for 14 weeks of full paid leave for births, surrogacy and adoptions, offering men and women an equal amount of paid parental leave regardless of their gender, their sexual orientation1 or the market in which they live or work.
Supporting employees to keep pace with a changing workplace and ensuring businesses can be more inclusive of young families, the policy will apply to all 45+ businesses in the group and will apply to both full and part-time employees who have worked at Halma for at least three months. For any country where paid parental leave is greater, the local regulatory requirement will take precedence with 14 weeks being the minimum offered.
The policy also strengthens the support Halma is putting in place for employees as they deal with the additional impacts of Covid-19. This includes access to a no-cost independent employee assistance programme offering services, such as childcare referrals, mental health resources and a working parents online community group.
The launch of its new policy builds on other steps taken to affirm Halma's commitment to building inclusive businesses: 63% of Halma's Executive Board and 40% of Halma's plc Board is female, and 44% of its Divisional Chief Executives, who run its portfolio of 45 businesses, are women.
Andrew Williams, Halma's Group Chief Executive, commented: "We recognise we are not the first large organisation to reach the conclusion that this is the right thing to do, and that it is only a step along the path of creating fairer and more inclusive work environments. Spreading such a policy among our portfolio of small to medium science-based companies, some of whom may only have 30 employees to begin with, has also not been without its logistical challenges. Fortunately, our portfolio companies have been keen to embrace the talent retention and recruitment benefits of such a move and are able to benefit from group-wide support in implementing the policy.
Jennifer Ward, Halma's Group Talent and Communications Director, commented: "Treating new parents equally will help make Halma a more welcoming and inclusive employer. This policy aims to remove career impediments for mothers and enable fathers to enjoy more time with their new family. This move is an important step in helping our people and our businesses, especially in light of changing expectations as a result of the global pandemic."
1Where permissible by law
