Intuit India rolls out extended parental benefits to attract and retain quality talent
IT and software firm Intuit India has announced a slew of benefits for employees in the early weeks of parenthood. The measures come on the heels of several companies in India stepping up efforts to attract and retain quality talent through progressive initiatives.
Flipkart, Adobe and Accenture are among the companies that have recently increased their maternity leave benefits. "As an employee-focused company, we want to create the best possible work environment that is simultaneously value-driven. Our employees are our most important asset, and we want to be able to provide them the necessary support so that they can do their best work without compromising on the work-life balance," said Vijay Anand, SVP and MD, India Development Cente.
Recently, the labour ministry approved a proposal from women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi to increase maternity leave in private companies to 26 weeks from 12 weeks, at present. This puts India on a par with several countries across the globe; some countries like Britain give a year off to parents of newborn children.
Under the new benefits rolled out at Intuit from January 1, paid maternity leave has been increased to 26 calendar weeks from 12. Paternity leave, earlier given for five working days, will now be given for 15 working days. Adoption leave will also be provided for 26 calendar weeks from the previous 12. Adoption leave is agnostic of gender and will be provided to all employees adopting children - whether male or female - so long as they are the primary caregiver of the child.
"Employees should not have to slow down their professional careers when embarking upon motherhood or fatherhood, and we see it as our responsibility to provide them the enabling environment to take sufficient leave as required," said Somnath Baishya, director-HR at Intuit.
The changes have been rolled out after consultation and brainstorming with employees, said Shikha Verma, C&B leader, India and APAC. "In urban nuclear families, a strong support system can be difficult to come by. Extended maternity and paternity leave give new parents the chance to bond with their baby and enjoy the onset of parenthood without added responsibility," she said.
The new benefits are part of the #GotYouCovered campaign, and are aimed at not only helping employees celebrate parenthood with time off, but also address the increasing parental responsibilities new fathers take on after a child's birth.
Intuit has about 930 employees at its Bengaluru office, and enjoys a gender diversity ratio of 38%, with 27% of the tech workforce and 33% of the leadership roles occupied by women. This apart, to make the transition back to work smooth, Intuit offers work flexibility through telecommuting and flexi-time options.
"Welcoming a new child into the family, either through birth or adoption, is the start of an exciting new chapter in life. Time to bond with and care for the new child (or children), and adjust to the change, is immensely important," employees were told in a mailer dated January 11 to announce the new benefits programme. ET has seen the mail.
"A happy and engaged workforce is a productive workforce, and that happiness stems from trust. Trust that your company has your back when you need it most, and this is the kind of trust we're building with our new policy," said Sriniwasan Ramaswami, talent engagement leader, India and APAC.
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