The revised maternity and paternity provisions at the core of Passport to Parenting will give most employees 14 weeks’ maternity pay followed by 25 weeks’ statutory pay.
Fathers-to-be will also be entitled to two weeks’ paid leave. For families where both parents work for Santander, they will also be able to swap the second half of the maternity leave period with their partner, providing increased flexibility. Santander believes that collectively these new benefits place them as one of the leading employers among its peers for employees with children.
Barbara Hobday, head of employee relations and diversity at Santander, said: "We want to achieve a fully inclusive workforce, one that best reflects the diversity of the communities we serve and one where we can attract and retain top talent. Families have been a key focus for Santander over the past three years and the Passport to Parenting programme has been launched following a period of consultation with our unions to best understand what our colleagues are looking for from a work-life balance offering."
The new Passport to Parenting plan encompasses a number of initiatives that appeal to families and benefit different facets of their lives, these include: -
A workplace nursery partnership – allowing employees to confidently place their children in a childcare facility near their home, or work that has been independently assessed – providing reassurance to parents.
Tommy’s Pregnancy Accreditation Programme – will allow pregnant employees to source vital health information supplied by Tommy's, a leading charity for parents-to-be, through their Ask the Expert email service – where employees will be able to email one of their midwives to receive confidential advice about their pregnancy.
Santander Flexible Saver for Kids account – to celebrate each new baby born to an employee, Santander will reimburse up to the first £40 paid into an account opened in the new arrival’s name. A special birthday gift of recognition of the parents’ service will mean a further contribution from the company of £20 on the fifth, tenth and fifteenth anniversary of the child’s birth or placement date for those that have adopted, for the length of the parents’ employment.
