​Netflix offers unlimited parental leave

Updated
Should Companies Offer Unlimited Parental Leave?
Should Companies Offer Unlimited Parental Leave?
Netflix set to offer unlimited parental leave
Netflix set to offer unlimited parental leave


The tech industry is stepping up its employee benefits for new parents.

Netflix are paving the way by announcing this week that they'll be offering unlimited maternity and paternity leave to their employees for the first 12 months of their babies lives.

Microsoft was quick to follow, declaring their own new regulations. The tech giant upped its parental leave to 20 weeks for mothers and 12 weeks for fathers.

On their blog, Netflix's Chief Talent Officer, Tawni Cranz, said: "At Netflix, we work hard to foster a "freedom and responsibility" culture that gives our employees context about our business and the freedom to make their own decisions along with the accompanying responsibility."

Adding: "Parents can return part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed. We'll just keep paying them normally, eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay. Each employee gets to figure out what's best for them and their family, and then works with their managers for coverage during their absences."

But will this unlimited parental leave work? And does it make sense to give new fathers as much time off as mothers.

HuffPost Live spoke to three industry experts, author Josh Levs, Ellen Galinksy, who is president of the Families and Work Institute and Patrick Kulp, a business reporter for Mashable.

Kulp was keen to point out that these new regulations will only apply to employees working in the streaming sector of Netflix and not those in other areas.

He also suggested that the streaming service had implemented these changes in order to attract young, talented workers.

​Netflix also have an unusual holiday policy. Salaried employees can take as much holiday as they'd like and there is no tracking of how many vacation days employees take. As long as their manager is aware and they've organised cover, workers can go when they like.

In the UK new fathers are entitled to one or two weeks paid paternity leave and then up to 26 additional paternity leave. However additional paternity leave is only a viable option if your partner returns to work.



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Netflix to Offer Unlimited Paid Parental Leave
Netflix to Offer Unlimited Paid Parental Leave

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