Pharma firm Pfizer announces 12-week paternity leave policy for its employees

Pharma firm Pfizer announces 12-week paternity leave policy for Biological, Adoptive Fathers

January 7, 2023, New Delhi: In a major policy change in the new year, a pharma company Pfizer has rolled out a paternity leave policy for its employees as part of its diversity and inclusion initiative. Employees of Pfizer India will now be eligible to take paternity leave from January 1, 2023.

The company has announced a 12-week paternity leave policy that can be availed by both biological and adoptive fathers.

Pfizer, which has 5,500 employees in India, said the paternity leave policy will definitely enable their male colleagues and their partners to cherish the experience and joy of fatherhood.

Under the initiative, fathers are given the option of availing leave in a maximum of four phases over a period of two years.

A minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six weeks leave can be taken in a single phase. Apart from this, Pfizer employees can also take additional leave in case of any complication as per the leave policy of the company.

These additional leaves include casual leave, optional leave and wellness days in case of any complication.

“We believe the future of the progressive workplace will be defined by practices that use a people-first approach.

Such a progressive policy is our attempt to harness the power of equity in the workplace and enable both men and women to invest equal time in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities as parents,” said Shilpi Singh, Director – People Experience, Pfizer, leading pharmaceutical company in India.

Gender-neutral parental leave

Social commerce platform Meesho announced a 30-week gender-neutral parental leave policy in 2021, as part of the company’s shift from gender-based differentiation to parenting.

The policy covers childbirth, adoption and surrogacy with equal benefits to men, women, heterosexual or same-sex couples, LGBTQA+ and live-in partners who are employees of Meesho.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted in early 2022 found that 14 percent of Indian companies have no paternity policy.

It includes large enterprises, SMEs and startups. According to a diversity survey of 300 companies by JobsForHer, only 31 percent of SMEs and start-ups offer paternity leave while 57 percent of large enterprises offer paternity leave of two weeks or more.

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