Author Topic: Company announces new parental leave policy  (Read 3394 times)

birdman2003

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Company announces new parental leave policy
« on: September 29, 2017, 12:46:58 PM »
My company just announced a new policy with 4 weeks of paid time off for mom or dad (or both if you both work here).  You can use it up however you like throughout the first year of the child's life.  Also valid if you adopt.

Before this policy we had no paid leave for new dads.

Woo hoo!

okits

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2017, 11:48:27 PM »
That's terrific!  I like a dad-specific paid leave allocation.  With both our kids DH had to use vacation time (technically he could have used some of the government parental leave, but the benefits were the same $537/week regardless of whether he took it or I did, so financially it made sense for the lower earner to use the government leave).

And congratulations, if you're expecting or hope to be, eventually. :)

birdman2003

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2017, 07:46:32 AM »
Yeah, my wife and I were excited to hear that they are giving paid leave to dad's too.  We'll see what the future holds . . .

I'm a red panda

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2017, 08:20:50 AM »
That's awesome.

My company also has 4-week parental leave for Moms and Dads.

It was nice to get some of my maternity leave paid for.  I kind of wish I had waited to take it later in her life, but I also was glad to supplement my pay while recovering from delivery.

Cadman

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2017, 08:25:04 AM »
Hey birdman, I think you and I work for the same megacorp ; )   

A week prior to that email broadcast, I had actually reached out to HR on the subject as the intranet was moot on the topic, unless you were outside the US in which case the company did pay. Nice to see them getting with the program stateside.

chemistk

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2017, 01:31:25 PM »
My company rolled out a new parental leave policy which beefs up the amount of paid time off moms can take and offers options for dads. I got a few work weeks' worth of vacation days that I was free to use within 1 year of our son's birth (of course, they've all been used at this point).

I have to say, those were some of the most rewarding days off of work and while it was great for me, it did wonders for my wife. She stays at home and with our first, she was pretty miserable adjusting. With our second, having me home for a few weeks to help with everything was a blessing.

It's a shame that time off for dads is pretty much not an option in the US.

MayDay

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2017, 07:34:48 PM »
My company only offers one week (plus disability for the mom) but I am glad what they do offer is for any parent.

My h got none when both our kids were born. It sucked.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2017, 11:51:25 AM »
My husband went back to work 3 days after our daughter was born mostly to not deal with my parents (he stayed in the hospital with me the 2 days I was there- the hospital has nice double beds to make that easier).  I was going to make him take vacation time when his parents came to visit, but he had an appendectomy instead, so he got sick time.

cacaoheart

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2017, 06:35:40 PM »
I'm thankful to work at an employer where I can use FMLA. Though it was unpaid once I used up my saved up paid time off, I took 9 weeks off after my wife had our daughter. At a parenting group a couple months ago we met a couple where the husband was actually laid off the day his daughter was born. Since it was a small enough company there were no job protections.

AccidentialMustache

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2017, 07:03:44 PM »
I guess I'm lucky when DS was born I was working for the state and could take the full FMLA, but got to make it paid via built-up vacation and sick time. Good thing too considering DW was pretty non-functional for the first 2 months (c-section and a very hungry kid).

I'm super jealous if the Euro/Scandinavian mat/paternity leave.

Laura33

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2017, 09:00:59 AM »
I was going to make him take vacation time when his parents came to visit, but he had an appendectomy instead, so he got sick time.

Well, that's one way to do it, I guess.  ;-)

My firm also does some version of paid parental leave to both parents -- I think it's 4 weeks for both, but I don't recall.  DH's company, OTOH, still lives in the Stone Age.  Before DS was born, DH's boss took him aside, told him how valuable he was and how much they appreciated his work, and that he should feel free to take time off when the baby was born -- "two, three days even."  With, of course, the tone that he was dispensing a fantastic favor that DH deserved solely because of his special-ness.  DH came home laughing and rolling his eyes.  I asked him what he was going to do, and he said "I'm going to take as much as I want.  What are they going to do, fire me?"  He ended up taking only a few days completely off and then taking it very easy for the next week or two.* 

Of course, that's still better than the place he worked when we were pregnant with DD, which announced that it was shutting down when I was 8 mos. pregnant. . . .

*Not because of worries about his job -- his parents had been planning to visit a week or two after DS was born, but then they had to evacuate for Hurricane Wilma (which apparently painted a bulls-eye on their area), so they just came up a couple of weeks early and ended up being here when DS was born.  So I had plenty of help those first couple of weeks.

clarkfan1979

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2017, 11:23:33 AM »
I teach at a community college full-time and I get 4 months of paid family leave. However, I need to use my sick days to get paid. I ended up taking 12 weeks of paid family leave during the first year of my son being born, as a dad.

Instead of a 3 month summer break, I stretched it into 4.5 months. Instead of a 3 week winter break, I stretched it into 8 weeks. Instead of a 1 week spring break, I stretched it into 2 weeks. I am blessed.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2017, 11:53:52 AM »
I was going to make him take vacation time when his parents came to visit, but he had an appendectomy instead, so he got sick time.

Well, that's one way to do it, I guess.  ;-)

He jokes that some Dads have sympathy weight gain, and he had sympathy abdominal surgery.

It was a bit of a pain though because he got a 5 pound weight lift restriction for like 2 weeks, and the baby weighed about 8 pounds then.  I told him no way was he getting out of Dad duty after a laproscopic surgery when I had an open surgery and had to lift the baby after mine. (My weight limit was 15 pounds!)

acroy

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2017, 12:46:44 PM »
Nice!
I get 3 days :)

HoustonSker

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Re: Company announces new parental leave policy
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2017, 07:50:32 PM »
Nice to hear the megacorp is initiating the increased benefit.  My big oil company just announced two weeks for parental leave in 2018, up from a whopping day as it currently stands.  The bad ass aspect is that it’s retroactive so since the wife and I just had our second, I can take an extra two weeks next year!  That’s some Charlie Sheen level winning.