Swedish automaker Volvo Vehicles is growing paid parental depart for workers globally to 24 weeks no matter gender, the corporate introduced Tuesday.

Workers — each hourly and salaried — who’ve been with the automaker for not less than one 12 months are eligible for the brand new “Household Bond” program, the corporate stated.

It covers those that turn into mother and father by way of start, adoption, everlasting foster care and surrogates. Non-birth mother and father in same-sex {couples} are eligible as effectively. This system takes impact Thursday, Volvo stated.

Workers shall be paid 80% of their base pay by default underneath this system. They can use the time without work from work through the first three years of parenting a brand new little one. U.S. staff even have the choice of 19 weeks of absolutely paid parental depart inside 36 months of changing into a mum or dad, in response to Volvo.

The brand new coverage is supposed to help the corporate in expertise acquisition and retention because it focuses on changing into an all-electric vehicle manufacturer by 2030, in response to Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

“It is one thing we consider is setting a brand new customary within the enterprise,” he informed CNBC. “We do that, to not introduce some form of new favorable profit to our staff, we do it extra as a result of we predict it is good for our firm. We shall be extra enticing as an employer. There is a competitors occurring for expertise.”

Samuelsson stated the corporate expects the brand new program to value a “appreciable sum” — possible within the “single-digit thousands and thousands.” He stated so long as “it provides us higher, numerous administration and a stronger model, it’s going to undoubtedly be price it.”

Volvo’s present program permits for six weeks of pay for use within the first 12 months of changing into a mum or dad, in response to the corporate.

Volvo’s new parental depart program is among the many most complete within the automotive trade. For instance, General Motors and Stellantis provide U.S. salaried staff as much as 12 weeks of paid household depart for brand spanking new mother and father, whereas Ford Motor provides as much as eight weeks. These are along with six to eight weeks accessible to start moms by way of the Household and Medical Depart Act.

Volvo determined to launch the brand new parental depart program following optimistic outcomes of the same pilot program for 1000’s of its gross sales staff in Europe, Samuelsson stated.

“What we do as an organization resides our values,” he stated. “It will likely be good for our status in every single place.”