Aviva – Winner 2020, Best for Fathers

Aviva offers men and women 26 weeks’ parental leave on full pay. This does not have to be shared and it’s available from the first day they join the company. 

Fathers and partners are encouraged to take leave, including by senior managers who take months, not weeks, off when their own children are born. As a result, the vast majority (95%) of fathers said their leaders were supportive of them taking parental leave. 

Returning parents are offered flexibility over their work pattern. This includes being able to take up to five hours of leave a week for the first 12 weeks after they return. 

Since the equal policy was launched in 2017, a total of 1,380 employees have taken parental leave, of whom 680 were dads or partners. 

In 2019, 23% more fathers took leave compared with 2018, and there was an 11% rise in the number of paternity days taken. 

A total of 97% of fathers at Aviva took more than two weeks’ leave. The average amount of time taken by new fathers was five–and–a–half months. 

The insurance firm said that while women returning from parental leave were more likely to request a formal change to their work pattern, a survey of returning men found almost a third (32%) were working flexibly and most had informal arrangements with their line manager. 

Anthony Fitzpatrick, ER & Policy Lead from Aviva, said:

“Increasingly both parents work and want to share childcare responsibilities, so businesses need to adapt and support this. It is not only the right thing for us to do socially, but it also makes good business sense too, as it helps us  attract and retain the best talent in our company, and helps us create an more inclusive culture.” 

All parents are able to take an additional half-day of leave to support their child’s first day at a new school. 

There is also an online parenting community for Aviva employees to ask questions and share their experiences, insights and advice.