Restaurant discovery service Zomato has introduced 26-week parental leave for all employees, both men and women. The policy also applies to non-birthing parents, and in cases of surrogacy, adoption, and same-sex partners.
In a blog post, Deepinder Goyal, Founder said Zomato believed people produce their best work when their personal and professional goals meaningfully intersect and align.
Maternity leave of 26 weeks is mandatory as per Indian laws across organisations in India. However, there is no such rule for paternity leave in the country. No company in India has a similar parental leave policy for men and women.
"According to me, a lot of that imbalance at the top stems from an unequal leave policy for men and women when they welcome their children to this world," added Goyal.
As per the new policy, for women at Zomato across the globe (the company has in 13 countries), they will offer 26 weeks paid leave or will follow the government mandated policy, whichever is more. The exact same benefits will be offered to the men at the workplace.
This policy also applies to non-birthing parents, and in cases of surrogacy, adoption, and same-sex partners.
Further, Goyal said a new member of the family can also be financially straining for the young family. Apart from that, Zomato will give $1,000 per child as an endowment to the new parents.
These policy changes are applicable to even those employees who have had a child within the last six months.
Two weeks ago, alcoholic beverage maker Diageo announced a new family leave policy for employees across its business. The company will offer 26 weeks of maternity leave and 4 weeks of paternity leave. The company also said that a significant number of Diageo's businesses will move to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave.