Employees at UK pet retailer Jollyes will have access to enhanced paid maternity leave of six months, up from six weeks, while paid paternity leave will double to four weeks, up from two weeks, as part of an overhaul of the employer’s benefits package.
The pets specialist has also introduced fertility leave for two days of each IVF cycle, alongside neonatal leave and baby loss leave.
The enhanced benefits are part of a range of new and improved support measures for staff in a bid to make the business one of the best employers to work for in UK retail.
Claire Goldenberg, people director at Jollyes, said: “The early response from employees to our enhanced parental policies has been fantastic – with the introduction of baby loss leave particularly striking a chord.
“As a working mum myself, it was very important to me that our parental policies stood alongside the best in the industry.
“We are committed to our goal of being one of the best employers in retail. That’s why we wanted to ensure our parental policies was one of many reasons our people would want to build a long-term career with us – not the other way round.”
Strategic partnerships
The business, which employs more than 1,250 people and runs 109 stores across the country, has set up several strategic partners to boost its benefits package. This includes a tie up with financial wellbeing app provider WageStream, which supports employees with financial planning.
Goldenberg said: “We appreciate that the stretch between December and January payday can be a real pinch point for many people’s finances, which was why partnering with WageStream at this time of year was particularly important for us.
“We hope this partnership will help give our incredible people that extra bit of peace of mind over the Christmas period, and in the months to come.”
Jollyes has also partnered with The Retail Trust to launch its Happiness Dashboard. Employees across the business will have access to a personalised dashboard with tips and tools to help ‘find their happy’ at work. As part of this tie up, the business will receive anonymised data from employees who complete a short survey. This will give the business a clearer picture of the benefits that most resonate with employees.
The employer has also partnered with a number of organisations to help broaden the range of people it hires and become more diverse and inclusive. Partners include over-50s recruitment platform Rest Less, and Fair Chance Business Alliance, which specialises in securing posts for people with criminal records.
The retailer has pledged that any ex-servicemen and women who apply for a role will be guaranteed an interview via its partnership with the Armed Forces Covenant.
