Social media organisation Facebook has extended its bereavement leave policy, introduced six weeks of paid family leave for employees to care for a sick relative, as well as three days of paid family sick time.
The extended bereavement leave policy will enable employees to take up to 20 days of paid leave to grieve for an immediate family member and up to 10 days of paid leave to grieve for an extended family member.
In addition, employees will now be able to take up to six weeks of paid leave to care for a sick relative. A new paid family sick time benefit will also give employees three days of paid leave to take care of a family member with a short-term illness, such as a child with the flu.
The enhanced paid bereavement leave and paid family leave came into effect on 7 February 2017, and will run alongside the organisation’s paid parental leave policy, which enables mothers and fathers to take four months of paid leave for childbirth or adoption.
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook, said: “People should be able both to work and be there for their families. No one should face this trade-off. We need public policies that make it easier for people to care for their children and ageing parents and for families to mourn and heal after loss.
“[Organisations] that stand by the people who work for them do the right thing and the smart thing; it helps them serve their mission, live their values, and improve their bottom line by increasing the loyalty and performance of their workforce.
“Our workforce is by far our greatest asset; and we’ve seen again and again that being committed to our people makes our people more committed to Facebook.”