Westpac has today announced it will provide employees five days of paid leave for early pregnancy loss in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
Westpac CEO Peter King said this new Early Pregnancy Loss Leave recognises that people facing early pregnancy loss need time and space to work through their difficult time and this leave will help this process.
"As one of Australia's biggest employers, we want to offer our people compassionate and relevant policies that support them through challenging moments in their lives,' Mr King said.
The new Early Pregnancy Loss Leave is in addition to Westpac's existing support options:
- Employees who experience pregnancy loss after 12 weeks and before 20 weeks can take up to thirteen weeks special paid maternity leave for birth mothers and carer's leave for partners.
- In the event of stillbirth, or pregnancy loss after 20 weeks, employees who are birth mothers have access to Westpac's full range of parental leave benefits, and partners are supported with compassionate and carer's leave options.
CEO Pink Elephant and Westpac Social Change Scholar, Sam Payne, said: "We know that when a loss is not validated by their employer as bereavement, it can mean that the woman and her partner suffer in silence which can lead to poor mental health outcomes.
"It is great to see Westpac supporting its employees in this way. It clearly recognises the loss as bereavement and begins the journey of support with validation and empathy," Ms Payne said.
Katrina Groshinski, Chairman Pink Elephant, Partner Minter Ellison, said: "We are delighted that Westpac, an iconic Australian business, has recognised the impact on its people of early pregnancy loss and the value of giving them time to grieve that loss and heal. Westpac's generous leave policy sets a benchmark we hope many Australian businesses will follow."
The new policy is effective Monday 12 July 2021. occur by the end of 2021.
