Tesco, the UK’s largest private-sector employer, has granted colleagues who have a Special Guardianship Order to care for relatives’ children equal rights with colleagues who adopt – giving them both 26 weeks’ leave on full pay.
The kinship leave, which will apply to grandparents or other relatives who take on a child of a family member, is intended to help kinship carers to be able stay in the workforce, while managing their extra responsibilities.
The new policy, which makes the grocer one of the first UK retailers to support these carers, is among a raft of family-friendly policies Tesco announced that will benefit more than 300,000 colleagues from this week.
Tesco also announced:
- Improved maternity leave to 26 weeks with full pay
- Up to 12 weeks paid neonatal leave
- Fertility leave extended to partners as well as birth mothers of up to 5 days paid leave per treatment cycle
- Adoption leave improved to 26 weeks on full pay, and
- Paid leave for two weeks for the loss of a baby pre 24 weeks of pregnancy
The charity Kinship, which has been campaigning for kinship carers to have the same rights to paid leave as parents and adopters, has welcomed the move by Tesco. There are 152,000 children in the UK growing up in kinship care and they estimate that hundreds of kinship carers work for Tesco.
The pioneering new policy will apply to Tesco colleagues who have obtained an SGO from a family court, which allows a child to be brought up by people such as grandparents, relatives or family friends while maintaining contact with birth parents.
Lucy Peake, CEO of Kinship, the leading national charity for England and Wales, said: “We are thrilled that Tesco is stepping up for kinship carer Special Guardians in its workforce by introducing paid kinship care leave on a par with adoption leave.
“Tesco’s new policy will make an enormous difference to many Special Guardian kinship carers across the country, who will now be able to take paid time off when to support children who have often experienced trauma and focus on their needs, knowing they will have a job to return to.
“We’re very proud to be working with Tesco as they implement this industry-leading support for Special Guardians and hope over time it can extended to all kinship carers. We urge other retailers to follow their lead and will soon be launching our Kinship Friendly Employers scheme to encourage employers of all sizes to better support kinship carers in the workforce”
Taylor Kershaw, who works in the Employer Brand team at Tesco, found her life turned upside down when she stepped up at the age of 25 to look after her brother’s newborn daughter.
Taylor was able to raise awareness of the issue facing kinship carers with colleagues in the Tesco People team, which led to the new policy being introduced.
Taylor said: “This is a gamechanger for all colleagues facing up to such a major life change. I was just 25 years old when I stepped up to become a guardian to a child that was only five days old.
“I was heartbroken for my brother and his partner, but suddenly I had to navigate becoming a guardian while still living at home and working full-time. This leave would have taken a lot of pressure from my shoulders and given me time to bond with baby and settle into my new role.”
In addition, the grocer has improved its maternity and adoption leave benefits substantially, increasing from 14 weeks with full pay followed by 14 weeks half pay, to 26 weeks with full pay. This is a significant improvement for over 2000 colleagues a year at Tesco who take maternity leave.
Tesco is also introducing paid neonatal leave for the first time, ahead of Government legislation due to come into force in 2025. The retailer will allow colleagues whose child has been unwell and spent seven days or more in hospital during their first 28 days since birth, to extend maternity or shared parental leave by up to 12 weeks on full pay.
Tesco also recently agreed new flexible working rights giving more than 300,000 colleagues the right to request a flexible working pattern from their first day in the job, rather than having to wait six months.
In July, it announced a new benefit for colleagues and their immediate family – unlimited appointments with a virtual GP, seven days a week to give them added flexibility in managing their health. Tesco colleagues are also able to access to sleep therapists, nutritionists, counsellors, exercise coaches and physiotherapists to support their wellbeing.
This expanded focus on colleague wellbeing comes after Tesco made its biggest-ever investment in colleague pay over the past year, with an increase totalling a more than 15% pay rise to bring the hourly rate to £11.02. Tesco also gives colleagues a 10% discount on groceries, which increases to 15% every pay day weekend.
James Goodman, Tesco UK People Director, said: “We have been really focused on our colleagues’ wellbeing this summer. As well as improving maternity leave for thousands of colleagues, we have introduced a raft of new benefits to help colleagues strike a healthy work-life balance.
“Relatives who take on the care of a child often feel forced to reduce their hours or even leave their jobs as they try to juggle extra responsibilities, and we wanted to step up to offer kinship carers the same support as colleagues who adopt a child.”
Daniel Adams, USDAW National Officer said: “Following ongoing discussions between Tesco and USDAW, we are pleased that the company is making these improvements which will provide valuable, additional support for our members when they need it most.”
