Diageo has today (22 May) announced its plans to introduce 26 weeks, 'fully paid' paternity leave for new Irish fathers, employed by the company.
'In Ireland this means that from the start of the groups new financial year, 1 July, 2019, 26 weeks fully paid parental leave will be offered to all Diageo employees, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or how people become parents – via birth, adoption or surrogacy,' the Guinness-maker explained in a statement.
"Today’s announcement is a significant step for us and shows our commitment to leading the way with progressive employment policies by supporting gender equality in the workplace,” said Oliver Loomes, country director, Diageo Ireland.
Global Paternity Leave
Diageo also said that it also setting a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave on full rate of pay in all markets, with a significant number of Diageo’s businesses moving to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including North America, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Australia amongst others.
“We are committed to creating a fully inclusive and diverse workforce and we strongly believe that businesses play a significant role in shaping the future of society," Mairéad Nayager, Chief HR Officer at Diageo said.
"Global businesses like Diageo must make bold moves on policies and the environments in which their employees work to ensure that the progress people deserve happens.”
In the statement, the drinks giant said that the business 'hopes the policy will support employees to focus on the joy of raising a young family, while continuing to thrive at work, and ensuring women and men are supported to have time with their new baby regardless of where they live and work'.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
