Creating policies for parents, as a non-parent

Write your injuries in dust, your benefits in marble

Benjamin Franklin

This week marked a very special time in one of our teams lives - becoming a parent. As someone who adores babies and loves love, you can imagine I was particularly beaming. What made me especially happy though is that as a small company ourselves, we have put the process and policies in place to allow team members to go off on parental leave with minimal disruption to the team, and maximum support for the individual.

Being the author of these policies it was a big undertaking and responsibility, as a 28 year old non-parent. It was certainly a worry that we weren’t able to provide the right policies for everyone, or that the offering wasn’t enough.

In this weeks edition, I’m taking a look back at what was involved in creating these parental policies (without the potentially relevant life experience to back it up), and what the best in the game look like for various different stages of business.

How I went about this at Passionfruit

When I first started in this role, the first area I knew we needed to get right was a full, compliant and clear company handbook that included all of the policies necessary to both operate efficiently but also to engage and motivate the team. When I came to the parental leave policy section, I had to pause to consider what stance as a company we should take.

I started the only place anyone should - research. I reviewed what all seed and series A companies in the UK offer their teams in general. Most offered 100% pay for 6 or 8 weeks for new mothers, and 2 weeks for dads. Both felt pretty underwhelming to me.

I also spoke to parents. Mainly new parents that have recently been in the workforce and have it top of mind, or parents-to-be that were waiting for mat/pat leave to kick in and what they expected.

Having just seen my sister go on maternity leave, along with my brother-in-law, I was acutely aware of how important the first few months are for new parents. But being a relatively small stage company, we can’t afford the same generosities as some of the bigger companies in the world.

So here’s what I settled on:

Flexible working

Throughout the pregnancy, as well as post-natal, there is a vital need for flexible working opportunities. Whether that is for hospital appointments, nursery drop offs, or pre/post natal classes. First and foremost it is important to us that team members that need to work flexibly, are able to. I never want us to be a company that doesn't let our parents leave work early to spend time with their children, and so encouraging flexibility from the get-go is required.

Maternity

• 12 weeks full pay for those that have been at the company for a minimum of 6 months (this means they would be eligible to the statutory 6 weeks 90% pay).
• For those that are brand new to the company and yet to be with us for 6 months, we would offer 6 weeks at half pay (not eligible for statutory pay). We feel it’s important to allow for what the law does not - if you’re the best talent for the job but happen to be pregnant, it’s only right you’re supported on that journey and not judged harshly during the interview process.

All mothers are entitled to a year off but our only amendment is to spend a half-day in the office ahead of their return to get re-adjusted to their way of working.

Childcare allowance

To support new parents with any work related absences required, we will also pay up to £100 per month for childcare support (eg. babysitter required for a few hours in the office). This is a relatively flexible amount depending on the amount of in-person requirements, and as always with these policies, it will be a test and learn approach that we amend over time.

Paternity

• 4 weeks full pay
• We suggest this is taken all in one go, and then if at a later date further time off is needed we encourage the team to use our unlimited leave policy to book off another 2 weeks later on down the line.
• Whilst fathers don’t need to take the full 4 weeks, it is important to us that they are spending those special first weeks looking after their partner as well as bonding with their new baby.
• Again we ask for a half-day in the office the week before their return to get caught up on what they’ve missed over the past month and prepare them for what they are coming back to.

Private Health Insurance

• Whilst this is not specific to parents and is rolled out across the team, there is a possibility to add dependants onto their health insurance. Especially useful throughout pregnancy.

With our first employee going off on paternity leave this week, I’m excited to hear about what we can improve. As always with these things, it’s great to have a policy in place but there will be never ending updates and improvements based on the teams experience. Keep your eyes peeled for an update in the coming weeks!

I’m now in the process of building out a shared parental leave and adoption policy - I’d love to hear your thoughts on what a brilliant policy looks like on these fronts.

🔦 Company Spotlights 🔦

The below are some of the best offerings I’ve seen - but it’s important to note this is super aspirational. Most businesses are only able to offer this sort of policy once they are a lot larger. A middle ground to me is fine right now until we get to the size of some of these companies, but at least they work as a bit of inspiration:

UK Fast

• 16 weeks maternity leave full pay

• On site crèche
• Hamper of goodies when the baby arrives

Adobe

• Six months of fully paid leave to new parents
• Back up childcare, tutoring and test prep fully funded
• Adoption assistance which can reimburse employees up to $25k for eligible expenses
• Breast milk delivery services that help employees overnight breast milk back home (if they are away for work)

Cisco systems

• 13 weeks paid leave for new parents
• 4 weeks paid leave to supporting caregivers to be taken flexibly
• Childcare through Cisco - such as on site daycare centers, and home-babysitting resources
• Flexible working benefits to allow as much time at home with their child(ren) as possible

Etsy

• 26 weeks fully paid for any new parents
• Flexible to take in part or in full over the 2 years following the birth or adoption of their child

Houst

• On a fun note - host management company Houst also offer a ‘pawternity’ leave whereby if you get a new puppy you’re able to work from home in the early weeks. A fun one but important for team equity - not everyone has children and so allowing individuals some personal time bonding with a new pet is a nice touch.

Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients

Richard Branson

What we’re reading

• How 3 childless men wrote a parental leave policy
• Over 30% of women turnover after having a child due to lack of support
• Why startup founders should plan for parental leave