Wates Group and Sir Robert McAlpine have introduced family friendly policies to create greater gender parity and flexibility for families
Both companies have launched the family friendly policies to offer industry-leading benefits to staff.
Wates family friendly policy
- Increasing paternity/partner leave to eight weeks full pay, more than a fourfold increase on the current policy
- Increasing maternity leave to 26 weeks full pay, and a further 26 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay, doubling the amount of full pay staff members have access to
- Introducing carer’s leave for the first time to ensure all members of staff can take up to four weeks of unpaid leave in a year
- Improving bereavement leave to include two weeks of full pay at this difficult personal time of losing a member of immediate family.
David Allen, chief executive at Wates Group, commented: “To be truly fit for the future and to continue to succeed, we need to become a more progressive and inclusive organisation. So, we want to give all our people the flexibility and support they need to thrive in the workplace and at home.
“These new policies will help us do just that. They provide support for everyone at all stages of their working lives and are tangible evidence of our commitment to being a flexible and responsible employer and to investing in all the members of our tremendous team.”
Sir Robert McAlpine Family First policies
- Both men and women are entitled to 26 weeks’ paid leave, no matter how their family grows (birth, adoption or surrogacy)
- Parents can now benefit from enhanced family leave after just 12 months’ employment, rather than two years previously
- Introduction of carer leave for those with caring responsibilities
- Ability to request unpaid parental leave from day one, which previously only applied to those with one year’s service.
Karen Brookes, executive director of people and infrastructure, Sir Robert McAlpine, said: “We aim to lead by example on inclusion, and the launch of our new Family First policies takes us one step further towards our ambition to be a flexible, family-friendly business that is the Best Place to Work.”
