At LS&Co., we are constantly working to offer a wider range of support to our employees, tailored to their unique needs and the times we are living in. At the beginning of this year, for example, we enhanced the standard of our paid leave benefit around the globe to ensure our eligible employees have equitable access to time off work for maternity leave, parental bonding leave and family care leave.
We connected with LS&Co. Chief Human Resources Officer Tracy Layney to discuss the benefit enhancement and our overall focus on taking care of our employees.
Q: Tracy, why are we enhancing our paid leave benefits?
Over the past few years, we’ve implemented and advocated for paid family leave and paid sick leave for our employees in certain locations and have seen firsthand the impact this has had on our employees’ lives. Our people make us who we are, and it’s our responsibility to create an environment that enables them to be healthy, happy and successful, both at work and at home.
We wanted to ensure eligible employees receive the same paid leave benefit regardless of their geographic location, so we created a global core minimum standard. This allows us to provide eligible employees with up to:
- 12 weeks of paid pregnancy (maternity) leave with enhanced flexibility on timing.
- 8 weeks of paid parental bonding leave, available to both parents (primary and secondary).
- 8 weeks of paid family care leave to care for immediate family members, including domestic partners.
Q: How does this compare with the previous benefits?
Our goal with this enhancement is to create an equitable global core minimum standard, thus providing a stronger safety net for our employees wherever they are located. Our previous policy minimums were contingent on local laws and standards around the world — employees were in theory eligible for a variety of paid leave benefits depending on their region, but it didn’t always work out that way in practice. By raising the minimum standard across the board, many LS&Co. eligible employees will experience an enhancement in this benefit. Additionally, any country that already provides higher paid leave benefits will maintain their current higher level.
Q: If LS&Co. employees aren’t eligible for the benefit, what other resources do they have available to them?
All LS&Co. employees, retirees and their families who are facing unexpected financial hardships can reach out to the Red Tab Foundation. The Red Tab Foundation is a nonprofit that assists our employees with quick, flexible cash grants that provide critical intervention for those in need. So, for any of our non-eligible employees, the Red Tab Foundation is there to provide the aid they may need.
Q: You’ve talked before about the importance of taking care of our employees in challenging times. Can you elaborate on how this benefits enhancement fits into that?
Absolutely. Taking care of our employees is the right thing to do and it’s good for business. The first step on our journey is to build an equitable safety net for all employees so they’re not reliant on the minimum paid leave standards set by their country (which, in some countries, are either very minimal or not universally accessible). At LS&Co., we hold ourselves to a higher standard. We want to ensure our people never have to pick between their jobs or taking care of a loved one.
We understand there are many situations that may arise in our employees’ lives, and we want to ensure they feel supported through the highs and lows. We want our employees to have the resources they need to balance family, finances and work, and implementing a global core minimum standard is a strong step in that direction.
