Meesho has introduced Care+, a Career Continuity Framework designed to support employees before, during and after parental leave, with a focus on helping them manage caregiving responsibilities without compromising long-term career growth.
The framework brings together structured return-to-work planning, flexible work arrangements, performance safeguards and caregiving benefits, extending support beyond the period of parental leave.
At the centre of Care+ is a structured reintegration process. Employees begin planning their return before going on caregiver leave, working with their managers and HR business partners to develop personalised plans covering expectations, milestones and ongoing support.
Employees can also opt for flexible work arrangements for up to 12 months after returning to work, with phased schedules of 25, 50 or 75 per cent. Meesho said the approach is intended to help employees gradually balance professional and caregiving responsibilities while rebuilding momentum at work.
The framework also formally embeds performance safeguards, with the company stating that employees will be evaluated based on their contribution rather than their time away from work. The objective is to ensure that caregiver leave does not affect perceptions of an employee’s ambition, commitment or capability.
Sagarika Ayyannamahanthi, general manager, Meesho, who returned to work after caregiver leave, said the flexibility and support from her manager and team helped her manage the transition while moving into a new role. “Returning to work after becoming a parent comes with a lot of questions, especially when you’re stepping into something completely new. I was moving into a role I’d never done before, and naturally there was some anxiety about balancing it all. What made the biggest difference was knowing I didn’t have to figure it out alone,” she said.
Care+ follows a caregiver-first approach covering biological, adoptive and commissioning parents, as well as single parents and diverse family structures.
The benefits include up to one year of caregiver support, 30 weeks of fully paid leave for primary caregivers, 30 days for secondary caregivers and nine days of Expectant Care Leave. Employees can also avail themselves of Rs 1 lakh in adoption assistance, Rs 10,000 per month in daycare support and access to more than 1,000 daycare centres across India.
Beyond supporting existing employees, Meesho said it is also hiring professionals seeking to return to work following maternity leave or extended caregiving breaks. The company said it views career pauses as distinct from a loss of talent, ambition or leadership potential.
With Care+, Meesho is positioning parenthood support as a broader career-continuity initiative rather than one centred only on parental leave. The framework seeks to address the period before leave, the transition back to work and the employee’s longer-term career progression, with flexibility and performance protection forming key parts of the approach.
