Volvo Cars will opt its employees in South Africa into an all-gender, paid parental leave policy from 1 April 2021.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Family Bond\u2019 policy will give all employees with at least one year\u2019s service a total of 24 weeks of leave at 80% of their base pay by default.<\/p>\n
The policy applies to either parent and the leave can be taken anytime within the three first years of parenthood, it said.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Family Bond\u2019 policy includes all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents of same-sex couples.<\/p>\n
Some countries do not offer any paid leave to new parents, or exclude certain groups of parents \u2013 the latter is particularly true for fathers.<\/p>\n
Greg Maruszewski, managing director at Volvo Car South Africa, said the company is also proud to be offering its employees far more than is required by South African law.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to South Africa’s latest parental leave laws \u2013 which were signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa and took effect from 1 January 2020 \u2013 all parents (including fathers, adopting parents, and surrogates) are entitled to 10 days of unpaid parental leave when their children are born.<\/p>\n
“Thanks to our Family Bond programme, parents employed at Volvo Car South Africa won\u2019t only get considerably more time off work \u2013 but they will also receive compensation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Maruszewski said that the fact that employees will receive 80% of their base pay will be especially significant to single parents in South Africa \u2013 of which there are many.<\/p>\n
According to research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council and the South African Race Relations Institute, 60% of SA children have absent fathers, and more than 40% of South African mothers are single parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sympathise with these parents and we would like to provide them with some support during this very significant part of their child\u2019s life,\u201d said Maruszewski.<\/p>\n
He believes that the extra days of leave – 24 weeks versus 10 days – will also send a clear message that Volvo Car South Africa cares for its employees and their families.<\/p>\n
“The leave is not mandatory, but we do want to create a culture where our people feel safe and supported to take the time should they so choose. We\u2019re encouraging parents to take this time to bond more with their families,” he said.<\/p>\n