(Financial News) Goldman Sachs has introduced a global policy allowing new mothers and fathers at the company to take at least 20 weeks of paid parenting leave. The move was announced as part of a package of measures aimed at helping staff start families, which includes the Wall Street bank offering up to $20,000 for certain fertility treatments.
Under the plans, revealed on Monday, all new parents, whether through birth, surrogacy or adoption, will receive the same paid leave that applies to their office location, regardless of gender or caregiver status.
For London-based employees, the company previously offered 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and four weeks of paternity leave, with the option of 52 weeks’ shared parental leave, as per UK law. Now, both parents in the UK will qualify for 26 weeks of paid parental leave.
Wall Street rival JPMorgan already has a policy of 26 weeks of fully paid paternity leave for its UK employees.
The new global policy at Goldman will mean an increase for employees in the US. Previously, employees in New York, whether male or female, could use 16 weeks of “primary caregiver leave” if they designated themselves as a primary caregiver.
The company memo, signed by chief executive David Solomon, chief operating officer John Waldron and chief financial officer Stephen Scherr, said the policy is designed to “better meet the needs of our people” and follows feedback the company received through its last people survey and a more recent benefits-focused survey.
The enhancements are “to enable everyone in our workforce to better manage the commitment to their careers while starting, growing and supporting a family”.
The investment bank is also introducing a programme called “Pathways to Parenthood”, which will increase existing stipends for adoption and surrogacy. It will put in place a $10,000 stipend for egg retrieval and a $20,000 stipend for egg donation, where permitted by law.
It is also giving employees across the world four weeks of paid family-care leave for situations such as looking after a family member with a serious health condition, military deployment or foster placement.
Goldman did not say how much the new programme would cost.
The announcement comes after Standard Life Aberdeen launched its “landmark” new parental leave policy last week, set to kick off in January 2020.
The £577bn asset manager’s policy gives both men and women nine months parental leave on full pay, making it one of the most generous in the UK. The time can be used in up to three instalments over a period of two years.
The moves at Goldman are the latest in a line of changes designed to make it a more family-friendly and appealing place to work. Its new office in Shoe Lane boasts an on-site nursery and lactation room as well as “resting rooms” for tired and unwell bankers.
Solomon has also introduced a series of measures to address the lack of gender diversity at the bank, including a target that at least 50% of new graduate recruits should be female and to increase the number of women in senior positions.
City companies are under pressure to ensure a working environment more conducive to parents, and to reduce their image as a hard-charging place to work, amid increased competition for talent from other sectors such as technology and consulting.
In the UK, all mothers are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, and must receive at least 90% of their previous salary for the first six weeks, falling to a negligible amount after this. Fathers are only entitled to two weeks off.
