New baby? Unilever expands paid-for partner leave to six weeks

Photo: Depositphotos.nl

Unilever is to give the partners of new mothers in the Netherlands six weeks fully paid leave from July this year, Dutch media reported on Wednesday.

The agreement is part of the new pay and conditions deal for 1,500 local staff which has been struck between the unions and the food and cleaning products giant, the paper said.

The deal includes a wage rise of 2.6% backdated to the start of this year, plus a further increase of 0.65% in July. Workers will also get a one-off bonus of €850.

Unilever has a workforce of some 3,100 people in the Netherlands but the new deal will not apply to international staff in management roles who have a different agreement, the paper said.

By law, partners have been entitled to five days paid leave since last year, when the entitlement was put up from two. From July this year, partners will also be able to apply for a further five weeks leave, paid at 70% of salary.

The Unilever deal means the company is effectively topping this up to 100%, RTLZ said.

Gender balance

The deal comes as Unilever announced it has ‘achieved gender balance’ across its management levels, a year ahead of the target it set itself.

Unilever’s workforce is closing the gender gap with 50% women at management level globally, up from 38% in 2010; and a non-executive board of 45% women, the company said in a press release.

The company says the progress has been particularly notable in departments where women have historically been under-represented such as finance, operations and supply chain management.

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