Crawford & Company has announced a new parental policy in the UK as it seeks to make its workplace more inclusive.

According to the company, the parental policy will provide greater support for employees who have become new parents, are undergoing fertility treatment, are seeking to adopt, or have suffered a loss during pregnancy or adoption. It provides a combination of extended leave and an increase in the number of leave days on full pay that will help reduce stress and anxiety at different stages in the pregnancy or adoption process.

The policy amendments introduced the following benefits for employees:

• Maternity and adoption leave on full pay extended to 12 weeks
• Paternity pay for two weeks
• Three paid days of leave per year for all employees undergoing fertility treatment
• Five paid days of leave for pregnancy loss for male and female employees
• Five paid days of leave for adoption loss for male and female employees

“It is one of our missions to help parents at all phases of the pregnancy or adoption cycle to better balance the process of starting a family with the requirements of work,” said Lisa Bartlett (pictured above),  Crawford & Company president, UK and Ireland. “At Crawford, we want all parents to feel valued and empowered within our organisation and see this as a key part of attracting, supporting and retaining those dedicated to starting or growing their family.”