If you have good reasons to shop at Flipkart, now you have even better reasons to work there. The e-commerce portal is the latest to join the small but growing list of progressive companies in India who offer generous maternity benefits.
Flipkart has now extended the three months government mandated maternity leave to 6 whole months or 24 weeks. After the completion of the leave, employees can also avail of flexible working hours with pay and if needed, a year-long sabbatical (without pay).
“Being inclusive can prove to be a competitive advantage for us. To maintain a leadership position, we have to attract diverse talent that represents our customer base,” Deepali Tamhane, senior director, product management at Flipkart told TOI.
Currently, most companies offer the statutory 12 weeks of maternity leave. Recently Vodafone and Accenture, both announced enhanced maternity benefits of 16 weeks leave and flexi work hours. But it’s only been companies like HCL Technologies, Godrej and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) which offer 180 days (over 24 weeks) of maternity leave to all employees. In fact, HUL recently extended the policy to new recruits as well.
Now Flipkart has joined that bandwagon too. The company also offers transport reimbursement benefit, parenting counselling, maternity tie-ups with hospitals, child care support for all employees and insurance benefits. Good going Flipkart!
Research shows that most women quit their jobs after childbirth due to lack of support at workplace and home. Progressive policies like this go a long way in ensuring employee retention and gender diversity at work.
A global analysis commissioned by Vodafone from KPMG indicates that businesses could potentially save up to an estimated US$19 billion annually through the provision of 16-weeks of fully paid maternity leave.
It is about time the the labour ministry took a serious re-look at the maternity benefit policies and made organizations more understanding of women’s needs. Only a government mandate will compel Indian companies to revise their maternity leave policies. And that shouldn’t just include an extension in maternity leave and flexible work hours, but also ensure it doesn’t affect performance reviews.
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