France: Novartis establishes 16-weeks of paid parental leave, starting 01 January 2020

Employees at the pharmaceutical company’s French subsidiary are set to receive an extra two weeks of paid parental leave above and beyond the standard minimum duration as required in the pharmaceutical company’s global policy that was issued in March 2019 (cf. article No. 11048), and that fixes a minimum of 14 weeks of paid parental leave irrespective of employment contract (permanent or fixed term), career length, and marital status, and is available to those welcoming the arrival of a child (childbirth and adoption). Since January 2020 the company’s global policy has been effective for the company’s 105,000 employees worldwide. “By offering the same parental leave conditions to all parents irrespective of gender or sexual orientation, we want to encourage a shift in culture and enable better gender equality,” the pharmaceutical company’s French subsidiary laid out in a press statement published on 05 February. The company’s Swiss subsidiary was the first in the group to announce the implementation of this global policy and since July 2019 has been offering 18 weeks of parental leave.