Accenture, a multinational management and consulting services company, has increased the maternity-leave benefits for its full-time and part-time women employees in India to 22 weeks of paid leave, up significantly from the current statutory requirement of 12 weeks.
The new policy, effective since May 1, also allows employees in India who do not have enough accrued vacation time, but want additional time off beyond the maternity leave, to take unpaid leave for another 12 weeks. Employees also may take an additional four weeks of paid leave if there is an illness directly related to the mother’s pregnancy.
“There is an increasing number of families in India in which both parents have hectic schedules — balancing work and family commitments — while simultaneously caring for children and continuing to advance professionally, which can result in some women discontinuing their careers,” said Parag Pande, Accenture’s Human Resource lead for India and global lead for Learning and Talent Development Operations
In addition to the maternity-leave benefits, Accenture offers its employees in India up to eight weeks of fully paid adoption leave for primary caregivers of an adopted child, as well as one week of paid paternal leave for new fathers.
Accenture’s support for parents in India also includes access to discounted childcare services, interactive parenting workshops, employee assistance programs, and pre- and post-maternity counselling sessions. In addition, employees can work with their supervisors and career counsellors for flexible work arrangements, such as working from home, where possible.