British motor insurance firm, Zego, is the latest UK company to offer employees paid leave for pregnancy loss; the policy covers both miscarriage and abortion.
The policy is open to employees, their partners, and surrogate mothers and provides two weeks’ paid leave including further paid leave for any related medical appointments,
Zego joins organisations such as online bank Monzo and digital marketing agency Hallam in introducing a paid leave policy for miscarriage. Currently, there is no legal obligation for employers to offer staff paid leave for the loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks, making firms like Zego pioneers in securing inclusion rights for employees affected by miscarriage.
A representative for Zego said: “The introduction of such a policy is simply another step in its development of a highly diverse, inclusive, and supportive working environment.”
Other diversity and inclusion initiatives from the company include six months’ full pay for maternity leave for employees with one year’s service; six weeks’ leave at full pay for new fathers and same-sex partners; and free coaching and therapy sessions for all employees throughout the year. They are also a supporter of the LGBT insurance network LINK and are set to sponsor the Pride event later this year.
Kingsley Macey, Chief People Officer at Zego, said: “We want to look after our employees in any way we can, and seek to continuously push for progress with our policies and benefits. When someone suffers such a loss, we believe they should not have to take sick days or unpaid leave to properly grieve and recover both physically and emotionally. We want to do what we can to support any staff members who find themselves in this situation.
“We introduced our paid leave for pregnancy loss policy a few weeks ago and are really pleased to be one of the first companies in the UK to do so. We have been working closely with our employees behind the scenes to ensure that they are up to speed on the policies we are offering. We also, more widely speaking, want to ensure Zego remains a highly diverse and supportive place to work, especially as we continue to grow.”
