Our New Maternity, Paternity And Adoption Support: A Meaningful Foundation For Growing Families

In life, few things can rival the joy, responsibility, and life-changing experience of parenthood.

The arrival of a little one reshapes our world, and it can be both magical and overwhelming, with countless emotional and physical adjustments.

At HowNow, we understand the value of supporting our team during this transformative phase.

That's why we recently launched our enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity pay, as well as other enhanced family-friendly policies.

By offering enhanced pay, we're demonstrating our commitment to our team enjoying this precious time to bond with their new arrival without worrying about their finances.

We want our team to feel cherished both on a personal and professional level as they grow, learn, and change.

As a Mum myself, It was important to me to not only offer new mothers a form of financial stability in regards to offering enhanced maternity pay, but also support on how they exit and reenter the workplace.

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Phased maternity leave

Four weeks before they go on maternity leave, the expectant mother will only be expected to work three days per week, but her salary will not be affected during this time.

We hope this allows them time to relax, prepare for the new arrival and adjust to new routines away from work.

Returning to work following maternity leave

For me, the hardest thing about maternity leave was returning back to work and leaving my baby for the first time in many months.

Going from spending almost every moment of every day with your child to eight-plus hours away from them is a change many organisations do not consider.

A huge thing for us, while considering how to support our returning mothers, was giving them space to adapt and catch up on the changes that have happened while the've been away.

So, we offer all our returning mothers a phased return over a one-month basis. This will hopefully stop them feeling so overwhelmed and support them in gradually finding a good work-life balance.
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Promoting gender equality

Supporting enhanced maternity and paternity pay aligns with our commitment to gender equality in the workplace.

By offering enhanced paternity pay and shared parental leave, we strive to break down stereotypes, promote gender equality, and encourage fathers to shoulder an equal part of parenting responsibility.

We recognise the importance of fathers having this time to form deep bonds with their children from the earliest stages of life.

We offer four weeks of enhanced paternity leave. Fathers can choose how to use this time, but are encouraged to take at least two weeks off when the new arrival comes to adjust to parenthood and cherish every second with their new family.

We also offer shared parental leave for those fathers who want to spend more time with their children following paternity leave.
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Why these policies are so important to us

For us, these enhancements aren't just a policy but a reflection of our values and our deep understanding of the joys and challenges faced by new parents.

It's an investment in the wellbeing of our team, their families, and the growth of our company.

By offering these benefits, we strive to create a foundation of support, understanding, and compassion, setting the stage for a brighter future filled with successful, fulfilled, and happy individuals both personally and professionally.

This is the first step in our journey and with feedback from our team, we are excited to continue to develop benefits and policies that truly matter to our people and enhance the great culture we already have.

If you'd like to learn more about our culture, benefits and vacancies, check out our Careers page.