Buy now, pay later (BNPL) company, Zip Co, has introduced a new bereavement leave policy, giving working mothers and their partners the right to paid leave after suffering a miscarriage or pregnancy loss.
According to Zip, the idea for the new bereavement leave policy was sparked in March this year, when the New Zealand government passed legislation providing paid leave for parents who have lost a pregnancy.
With a quarter of all pregnancies ending in miscarriage, Zip says they hope to create a space to normalise and change the conversation around miscarriage. The leave period is intended to allow women and partners to come to terms with the loss, without having to dip into their sick leave. The buy now pay later (BNPL) company says allowing parents this space is critically important for mental recovery.
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Zip’s new policy offers parents two weeks of paid leave for those who experience miscarriage or pregnancy loss in the first 20 weeks. After that period, the standard parental leave policy applies, offering 16 weeks of paid leave to primary carers and four weeks to secondary carers.
The policy applies to both full and part-time employees, all genders and regardless of how long they have been with the company.
Zip has 700 employees globally and says they hope other Australian and international companies will follow their example and put in place similar steps to support their staff.
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In addition to the new bereavement leave policy, Zip also offers primary caregivers who come back from parental leave their full-time salary for the first three months, even if they only work part-time. It pays superannuation on all parental leave and has extended the domestic violence policy to provide 10 days of paid leave for victims, with the option to take extra time, if needed.
As one of the largest buy now pay later (BNPL) providers in Australia, Zip has over two million customers across Australia and New Zealand and has transacted over $6 billion since 2013. In addition to offering interest free instalment payment plans, Zip Business Capital offers unsecured business loans of up to $500k, which small businesses can use to support business growth.
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