Theta announces new parental leave benefits

One of our core values at Theta is that ‘people are our greatest asset.’

To us, that means supporting their wellbeing, especially during the important early stages of a child's life, and so we recently improved our parental leave policy. Phoebe Dobson, Head of Delivery, with People and Culture under her remit, has been a staunch champion of the new policy.

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“We have great people here at Theta and are continuously striving to improve our benefits to them. As we do better and better as a company, we want to try and make sure that our people reap the rewards - it’s them that makes us great, and it’s as simple as that.”

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We’re pleased to share that our new policy includes the following:

• Parental leave payment top-ups (available to primary carer – mum, dad, grandparent or guardian) for up to 26 weeks.

• A return to work bonus of $3000 for the primary caregiver.

• 3 days of paid partner leave for the secondary caregiver.

• Flexible working upon return from parental leave.  

• ‘Welcome baby’ gift pack.

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Before rolling out this plan, we researched how other NZ organisations supported new parents. Whilst an increasing number of enterprise level organisations now offer new and improved entitlements, many medium-sized businesses, like us, were yet to join them. By rolling out our new policy, we’re essentially saying, ‘we can offer something great for parents, too’, and show that it’s possible to create change for organisations of our size. Phoebe Dobson:

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“I know first-hand how important both the extra financial support and flexible working is when you are a new parent, and I’m excited that we can offer these to our people. Fundamentally our drive to do this is because we want to be a supportive employer, a responsible one that acknowledges family-friendly policies should form part of who we are.”

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The benefits are far-reaching for both individuals and at an organisational level.  Project Manager and new mum Isha Sharma recently returned from parental leave:

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“It’s great that Theta supports new parents with a return to work bonus. It highlights the company values of care and concern for their staff and creates a culture where I personally feel that I am part of Theta whānau.”

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The new policy has been exceptionally well received by Theta staff, and we continue to look for ways to support them both now and in the future.