This week is National Inclusion Week. Organised by Inclusive Employers, the theme for 2023 is Take Action Make Impact. As an Inclusive Employer, we’ve been reflecting on how our policies represent opportunities to do the right thing for people at BKL and their families.
Policies for me are your signals of commitment to your people. They are an articulation of what you value most. The support might vary: it’s not just about time off, it’s how we support that person and recognise them as an individual.
Earlier this year we extended paid parental leave and this month we’ve added:
Pregnancy loss
We’re providing up to four weeks off for anyone impacted by this for both parents.
Neonatal care
We’re implementing full pay for both parents for up to 12 weeks.
Additionally we’re also thinking about the entire parental experience. We’re in the process of building out better support for returning parents, through one on one coaching and better resources for managers to prepare for returning parents.
We left our new Family Guide open for colleagues to feedback on, and lots of people kindly gave me feedback via LinkedIn. As a result, we’ll also be implementing:
Paid leave for anyone that becomes a new grandparent.
Paid kinship leave. This is for when a child lives full-time or most of the time with a relative or close family friend, usually because their parents are not able to care for them. In the UK, more than 180,000 children are reported to be in kinship care.
Paid carers leave. This is available to support anyone with caring responsibilities. 75% of carers in employment worry about continuing to juggle work and care (Carers UK, State of Caring 2022). So we hope this small but meaningful change will make a difference.
Getting these experiences right beyond BKL isn’t just about having a great set of benefits, nor does it mean we’re not thinking about other moments that matter it means we’re taking small but meaningful steps to remove barriers that prevent people from remaining optimistic about their careers, whilst facing the challenges of caring for example.
If you’d like to know more about our policies, benefits and employee experiences – as a potential new colleague, client or a fellow employer – you’re welcome to get in touch with us.