Slalom, a consulting firm focused on strategy, technology and business transformation, is taking part in National Work Life Week 7-11 October 2019, a flagship campaign run by UK work-life balance charity Working Families. The aim of the week is to get both employers and employees talking about wellbeing at work and work-life fit. To mark the week, Slalom UK is sharing their enhanced parental leave policies, videos of their people’s work-life balance, an internal work-life panel discussion and a social media campaign. Slalom UK’s 4 main ‘family’ policies are:
- Maternity leave – 52 weeks leave, 26 weeks 100% basic pay
- Adoption Leave – 52 weeks leave, 26 weeks 100% basic pay
- Paternity Leave – 4 weeks leave, 100% basic pay
- Shared Parental Leave – up to 50 weeks leave, 26 weeks 100% basic pay
At Slalom UK, eligibility for the enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave policies are 26 weeks service at the qualifying week (15 weeks before the due date). Eligibility for enhanced adoption leave is 26 weeks service by the end of the ‘matched’ week.
There are 13 million working parents in the UK, making up more than a third of the workforce. But Working Families research [3] shows that work often stops people with caring responsibilities from reaching their potential. Parents working part-time – most of whom are women – have just a 21% chance of being promoted within the next three years, compared to 45% for their full-time counterparts. Work also takes a heavy toll on family life. For nearly half of parents (47%), work restricts their ability to spend time reading or playing with their children. 48% said it affects their relationship with their partner and more than a quarter (28%) said it led to arguments with their children.
Slalom UK wants to do things differently and is striving for a family-friendly and flexible working culture. The company has recently enhanced their parental leave policy to improve a family friendly and flexible working culture in their organisation.
Dave Williams, Slalom UK Managing Director, said:
“I believe that everyone should be able to love their work and life, and so I’m constantly looking for ways to make that true for everyone at Slalom. I love how we empower our people to help set the policies and approaches for how we achieve this lofty ambition. We have some great ideas in action already, and I’m excited about what more we can be doing.”
Lindsay Hymas, Practice Area Director at Slalom Manchester, is a mother of two and works part-time said:
“It strengthens my motivation to work super effectively Monday – Thursday whilst simultaneously making my family life stronger because every Friday I can do the school run, walk the dog and go to Pilates with certainty and without guilt. That’s incredibly important to me and to my boys for our collective well-being!”
Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive at Working Families, said:
“National Work Life Week is an opportunity for employers to showcase their family-friendly and flexible working opportunities, and it’s great to see Slalom doing just that.
“Parents and carers who work part-time and flexibly add immense value to an organisation. Working Families is committed to helping employers embed flexibility and build supportive cultures to help parents and carers thrive in the workplace. I’m delighted Slalom are taking part in our journey.”
National Work Life Week is run by Working Families, the UK’s work-life balance charity, along with Family Friendly Working Scotland, the charity’s Scottish arm. Working Families has been supporting family-friendly workplaces for 40 years. The campaign is run annually at the beginning of October and is a week during which employers showcase how they support their employees’ work life balance and encourage healthy and sustainable ways of working.
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