Of late, India Inc. seems to have become more considerate towards new parents than ever before, with many companies announcing extended maternity benefits.
India Inc. has certainly taken the lead in offering extended maternity benefits for its employees, with many companies announcing revamped policies in the last six months. Following in their footsteps, the Indian Government may also extend maternity leave for its employees, to eight months.
As per media reports, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, has proposed for the extension of maternity leave to eight months, from the current three months.
It is learnt that Gandhi has also urged the labour ministry to ensure that the extended maternity benefits cover all working women, both in the organised and unorganised sectors.
Of late, India Inc. seems to have become more considerate towards new parents than ever before. Vodafone, Accenture, Citibank, Mondelez and Flipkart have started offering extended maternity benefits for their women employees.
It all began in March, with Vodafone announcing a uniform maternity leave policy for its employees across the world. Soon, Accenture joined the list and extended the maternity leave to 22 weeks.
Post that, it seems Indian Inc. was in a race to add some extra benefit to the platter. Some companies brought in surrogacy under the benefits, while some introduced crèche facilities in their offices.
Just last week, Intel also announced the extension of the duration of maternity leave from the existing 84 days to 150 days. In addition, the new mother will get the benefit of working part time for one month after availing maternity leave, and that too on full salary.
