Molson Coors Beverage Company has introduced an equal parental leave policy for its more than 2,200 employees across the UK.
All new parents at the brewer of beer brands such as Carling, Coors and Madrí Excepcional will be entitled to up to 52 weeks’ leave regardless of gender or their path to parenthood, 26 weeks of which are fully paid.
In addition, all parents will qualify for up to 10 paid keeping-in-touch days and paid antenatal appointments, while those taking more than 26 weeks’ leave will qualify for a phased return for the first four weeks and will work 80% of their hours while receiving 100% of their pay. A further 12 weeks fully paid neonatal care leave is also available if needed.
The policy is part of Molson Coors’ ambition to become a more inclusive employer. It is also aiming to remove the secondary carer label often given to those that cannot take more time off following the birth of a child.
Phil Whitehead, managing director, Western Europe at Molson Coors Beverage Company, said: “We’re always looking at ways to drive for more gender diversity at every level of our business, and to create a more inclusive and equitable work experience for everyone. At its most simple and powerful level, equal parent leave recognises that parents should be able to choose how to care for their young children, rather than it being a decision made for them by their employers largely rooted in traditional assumptions about primary and secondary carer roles.
“As a business that is part of a typically male-dominated industry, we have an opportunity to help breakdown those stereotypes and help to challenge the secondary carer label, which is often taken on by new fathers. We want to make it easier for fathers to be able to take more time away from work as a new parent, because we know that by doing that, we are also helping to give mothers more choice and families the opportunity to start that parenting journey on a more equal footing.”