Netflix Declares Employees Can Have ‘UNLIMITED’ Parental Leave
Netflix have upped the parental leave stakes for its employees by offering new mums and dads an unlimited amount of time off work.
The video streaming service said that staff who become parents to a child that is born or adopted will be allowed to take up to a year off with full pay.
They will also be allowed to return to work part time or have multiple paid holidays in between working.
The company said their new policy was about letting employees have the “freedom to make their own decisions”.
Chief Talent Office, Tawni Cranz said: “Today we’re introducing an unlimited leave policy for new mums and dads that allows them to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption.
We want employees to have the flexibility and confidence to balance the needs of their growing families without worrying about work or finances.
“Parents can return part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed.
“We’ll just keep paying them normally, eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay.
“Each employee gets to figure out what’s best for them and their family, and then works with their managers for coverage during their absences.”
She added that people will “perform better at work when they’re not worrying about home”.
Netflix’s new policy eclipses the progression made in parental leave in America by some of the world’s biggest companies.
Staff at Google are allowed 18 weeks off while Facebook offers employees four months off.
New mums working at Apple are allowed four weeks off before birth and 14 weeks after.
In the UK, shared parental leave was introduced in April this year, which entitles both mothers and fathers the right to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay.
Previously, new fathers were only entitles to two weeks paid leave following the birth of a baby.
However, some companies are also improving shared parental leave - including Virgin, who are offering all staff at Virgin Management with at least four years service a full year with full salary.
New parents in America are currently not entitled to be paid while they are on parental leave.
Pics: Rex
