Till Payments introduces Pregnancy Loss Leave Policy, partners with Kin Fertility
Global payments fintech disruptor, Till Payments, has launched its new Pregnancy Loss Leave Policy, as it partners with Kin Fertility on its #WeNeedMoreLeave movement to campaign for more engagement and support in the workplace for staff who have experienced a miscarriage.
As part of its new Pregnancy Loss Leave Policy, Till has committed to providing gender-inclusive benefits that apply to both expectant parents and those taking the role of surrogate.
Till’s staff will be entitled to 3 weeks of paid leave for a miscarriage within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and 12 weeks of paid leave for a pregnancy that ends after 12 weeks because of a miscarriage or stillbirth. The company will continue to make superannuation contributions to staff on paid and unpaid loss leave for up to six months while also providing paid counselling services for six months.
Shadi Haddad, CEO at Till Payments, says more work needs to be done to improve the support given to staff navigating the difficulties of pregnancy loss.
“We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with Kin Fertility to encourage Australia’s business community to take a stance on this important issue. At Till, one of our values is ‘One Team, One Family’. Put simply; this means that we take care of ourselves, each other, and our community. We understand that life exists outside of work and, to nurture our people’s health & wellbeing, we’ve introduced our new Pregnancy Loss Leave policy to help support our people through the many challenges that life throws at us,” he said.
“Companies need to do more to play an active role in assisting people through, what’s often, a very testing and emotional time. At the base level, providing paid leave and superannuation contributions is critical, but we wanted to take it one step further to ensure our staff had access to mental health support services to help them work through the difficulties of pregnancy loss,” Mr Haddad continued.
Last year, a historic change to the Fair Work Act saw miscarriage leave introduced into legislation, requiring employers to provide employees with two days of paid bereavement leave for parents who experience a miscarriage. However, Kin’s #WeNeedMoreLeave campaign urges companies to do more to support families in the workplace.
“As part of International Women’s Week, Kin Fertility wants to encourage businesses to take one step further than the government mandate. We want businesses to support at least ten days or more of miscarriage leave. Because if businesses change, society benefits. It just feels like the right thing to do,” Nicole Liu, CEO at Kin Fertility, said.
The Australian-born, global fintech is one of a handful of Australian start-ups walking the walk to live out its culture-first and people-first values. Last year, it set a gold standard in the fintech industry by introducing a new 20-week, gender-inclusive, paid-parental leave policy.
