PwC India allows three years’ leave for childcare

The Full Circle programme applies to all regular full-time women employees, who have been employed with PwC for two or more years.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India has launched a programme that allows women employees to take leave for up to three years for childcare, once during their employment with the company. The multinational company had also revised the duration of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks with effect from 1 January, 2016.

This childcare programme called Full Circle, applies to all regular full-time women employees who have been employed with PwC for two or more years, have taken a break and intend to come back to work with the company.

The programme intends to put into practice PwC’s deep organisational commitment towards supporting its women employees and their personal needs.

Benefits of the programme include continuity of service throughout the programme duration, a mentor to connect with throughout the programme. These mentors will also assist in transition back to the firm, access to local firm events and functions and all PwC-related updates, and continuity of all health and welfare benefits.

With this new programme, the company believes that its women employees, who constitute nearly a third of its total workforce in India, will get the opportunity to stay connected with their colleagues, peers and firm even if they decide to take a break to care for their children. PwC also said that it would continue to provide employees with flexible options to establish work–life balance.

In August, India’s upper house had also passed the Maternity Leave (Amendment) Bill, 2016, raising the maternity leave for working women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.