Britain's Reckitt Benckiser gives new parents more paid leave

Dec 3 (Reuters) - British household goods maker Reckitt
Benckiser Group Plc said on Tuesday it was extending its
paid leave globally for new mothers from 16 weeks to 26 weeks,
but the change will take time to implement in the United States
due to regulatory issues.

Mothers will also have the option to take a further six
months of leave without pay.

The Durex condom and Lysol disinfectant maker also said it
would increase paid paternity leave for fathers and partners to
four weeks, with the option to take a further four weeks of
leave without pay.

Reckitt Benckiser has also launched suites for breastfeeding
mothers returning to work and free breast pumps if needed.

The bluechip company said its new policies would
also apply to employees who belong to the LGBTQ+ community and
include adopting and surrogacy families.

Reckitt Benckiser said U.S. maternity leave, currently at 16
weeks with pay, would be reviewed in 12 months with the aim to
align it with the global policy. The changes to paternity leave
also exclude the United States, where new dads are entitled to
six weeks paid leave.

Another FTSE 100 firm, Diageo is one of only five
companies globally to offer equal lengths of 26 weeks paid
parental leave for both the primary and secondary carers, for
all their employees globally, according to equal workplace
rights group Equileap.

Rights groups have said that closing the gap would combat
discrimination towards women, and Aviva Plc, British Land
Company Plc, Diageo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co
and Spotify Technology SA have been hailed as
trailblazers by Equileap https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-women-paternity/just-five-major-companies-offer-a-years-paid-equal-parental-leave-idUSKBN1W122O.
(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)