Global parental leave turns 1 year
One year ago, Sandvik began rolling out its global parental leave program, offering 14 weeks of leave with 90 percent of base pay to all employees. The benefit has become a success and is now implemented in 54 countries.
Sandvik launched this gender-neutral benefit to offer new parents the opportunity to bond with their baby, and to promote work life balance and employee well-being. The worldwide implementation is now complete – an important milestone truly worth celebrating.
“To be successful as a company, we believe it is crucial for us to attract, retain and develop our employees,” said Sandvik President and CEO Stefan Widing at the time of the launch. “With this benefit, we can improve work-life balance for new families and people whose families are growing, and that is import to be an attractive employer.”
Positive response to the parental leave program
One year after the launch, the parental leave benefit has been implemented in 54 countries and 105 employees have submitted leave applications. Canada, Australia, and India are the countries with most applications and 79 percent were submitted by male employees.
The global parental leave has been very well received by employees.
Stories from employees around the world
“Parental leave gave me the opportunity to bond with my son and to help my wife, for example by cooking nutritious meals for her. Taking care of a baby is a tough job – but I love it! Overall, this experience taught me to be patient," says Haijiang Feng, Quality Professional, China.
"One key lesson I learned during this period was the importance of being present and fully engaged with my family. The time away from work allowed me to appreciate the small moments and understand the significance of a supportive family environment,” says Criziel Adzuara, Field Service, Philippines.
“Being able to be truly present during the first three months of my son's life was wonderful. I will 100 percent recommend it to others,” says Christobal Alessandro Giordano, Parts & Pricing Planner, Chile.