Viva Energy has announced that eligible Viva Energy employees will be entitled to 26 weeks of paid parental leave for babies born after 1 January, 2023.
This enhanced parental leave policy will provide better support for working parents and builds on Viva Energy’s commitment to build an inclusive and supportive work environment and improve work-life balance for its employees.
The extended paid leave (previously 14 weeks) is aimed at supporting parents with caring responsibilities and improving the balance between paid work and unpaid care.
The decision to announce the new policy on International Women’s Day is also significant as it will help to close the gender pay gap, given women typically take more extended periods of primary carer’s leave than men which can often be unpaid.
“Most women take between six and 12 months leave after childbirth, with a significant proportion of this time taken as unpaid leave. This has a material impact on the short term and life time earnings capacity of women, while undertaking one of the most important roles in our society,” said Viva Energy Chief Executive Officer Scott Wyatt. “This new policy positions Viva Energy as one of the small number of companies that is absolutely leading in this area and further demonstrates our commitment to improving equality and outcomes for both men and women.”
In 2017, Viva Energy took an industry-leading step towards addressing the gender retirement savings gap by introducing full superannuation entitlement for periods of paid and unpaid parental leave.
As well as the generous primary carer’s leave announced today, the new policy includes other leading entitlements such as the ability to take leave flexibly, support for miscarriage and people undergoing IVF, paid keeping-in-touch days, continued superannuation payments during periods of parental leave, and equivalent full-time superannuation payments for parents returning part-time after their leave for up to five years.
“This a very exciting and meaningful change which will help us attract and retain the diverse talent which is needed to drive our business into the future,” Mr Wyatt said. “Together with our other parental care and flexible working policies, it will make a material difference to many people across the company and encourage other companies to follow our lead.”
Viva Energy regularly reviews its approach to parental leave in line with leading practice, and will continue to evolve its policy as the market develops.
