Volvo Cars’ more than 40,000 employees around the world will be included in a new all-gender, paid parental leave policy commencing on April 1, 2021.
Volvo’s newly-created ‘Family Bond’ policy will provide all employees with at least one year’s service no less than 24 weeks of leave at 80 per cent of their base pay by default. This policy applies to either parent and can be taken anytime within the first three years of parenthood.
The Swedish automaker has also confirmed the policy includes all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents in same-sex couples.
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“We want to create a culture that supports equal parenting for all genders,” Volvo Cars chief executive Håkan Samuelsson said. “When parents are supported to balance the demands of work and family, it helps to close the gender gap and allows everyone to excel in their careers. We have always been a family-oriented and human-centric company. Through the Family Bond program, we are demonstrating and living our values, which in turn will strengthen our brand.”
Volvo says that by studying a parental leave pilot, it discovered that employees appreciated the policy for being gender neutral, inclusive and adaptable to personal needs.
“This is more than a new parental leave policy for our employees – it is the embodiment of our company culture and values,” added head of corporate functions at Volvo Cars, Hanna Fager. “We want to lead change in this industry and set a new global people standard. By opting all our employees into paid parental leave we narrow the gender gap and get a more diverse workforce, boosting performance and strengthening our business.”
