Accenture Expands Parental-Leave Benefits for Employees in Philippines

As part of its continuing commitment to be among the most inclusive and diverse employers in the country, Accenture has expanded its parental-leave benefits for its more than 50,000 employees in the Philippines, enabling them to attend to family responsibilities while cultivating a thriving career in the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry.

“At Accenture, our commitment to our people is of paramount importance,” said Lito Tayag, country managing director of Accenture in the Philippines. “Aside from our focus on developing innovative talent, Accenture is strongly committed to industry-leading benefits packages that advance the welfare of our employees, regardless of their gender, personal status and circumstances. This initiative signifies our continuing effort to support and encourage our employees to become their best selves as they create value for our clients, for our company and for our community.”

Accenture had doubled its maternity-leave benefit, to 120 calendar days, in 2015. The latest parental-leave benefits package, which took effect Dec. 1, expands the leave benefits of fathers, life or common-law partners, adoptive parents and secondary caregivers, providing them with options most suitable to their specific life situation.

Under the new package, Accenture employees will receive the following benefits:

Paternity Leave. Male employees may take 30 consecutive calendar days of leave for a live birth by their legal spouse and seven working days of leave, on a staggered or consecutive basis, following a miscarriage/ectopic/still birth by the legal spouse.

Inclusion & Diversity Leave. Employees with a declared life partner my take 30 consecutive calendar days of leave for a live birth or for the legal adoption of a child below seven years old by the declared life partner, and seven working days of leave, on a staggered or consecutive basis, following a miscarriage/ectopic/still birth by their declared partner.

Adoption Leave. A male adoptive parent may take seven working days of leave, on a staggered or consecutive basis, or 30 consecutive calendar days. The leave benefit for a female adoptive parent remains unchanged, at 60 consecutive calendar days. These benefits are applicable if the adoptee is younger than seven years old and that adoption was facilitated through the Pre-Adoptive Placement Authority agency of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Secondary-Caregiver Leave. Female employees may transfer 30 days from their 120-calendar day maternity leave benefit to a secondary caregiver – their spouse, life partner or relative up to the 4th degree of consanguinity (e.g., first cousin, grandnephew or grandniece) — who also works at Accenture.

Accenture’s expansion of its parental-leave benefits demonstrates how the company is leading efforts to promote a workplace environment that allows employees to build and nurture their families while they achieve their personal and professional goals, strengthening its employer-of-choice positioning in the local IT-BPM industry. For its efforts, Accenture recently received an EDGE MOVE Certification for creating a gender-equal workplace. The company also ranked No. 1 in the global Thomson Reuters Diversity & Inclusion Index in September 2018.