The "Family Bond" policy will give all employees with at least one year’s service a total of 24 weeks of leave at 80% of their base pay by default. The policy applies to either parent and the leave can be taken anytime within the first three years of parenthood.
The global policy is more inclusive and supportive than many existing policies around the world, and includes all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents in same-sex couples.
Some countries do not offer any paid leave to new parents, or exclude certain groups of parents – the latter is particularly true for fathers.
However, should a country have local regulations that offer a more generous parental leave, local regulations would take precedence.
Volvo Cars’ global policy is inspired by national legislation in its home market of Sweden, famous around the globe for its generous parental leave arrangements, which have delivered tangible benefits for parents and children alike in recent decades. It follows a parental leave pilot scheme launched in the EMEA region in 2019, in which 46 per cent of all applicants were fathers.
“We want to create a culture that supports equal parenting for all genders,” said chief executive Håkan Samuelsson.
“When parents are supported to balance the demands of work and family, it helps to close the gender gap and allows everyone to excel in their careers. We have always been a family-oriented and human-centric company. Through the Family Bond programme, we are demonstrating and living our values, which in turn will strengthen our brand.”
