Marks & Spencer introduces paid neonatal leave

Marks & Spencer has expanded its maternity offering with the introduction of neonatal leave for families of premature babies or babies that need additional care when born.

For the employees it applies to, extra paid leave of up to 12 weeks will be granted coming into effect immediately, making Marks & Spencer one of the first retailers to introduce such a policy.

Speaking in a release, Sarah Findlater, group HR director at Marks & Spencer, said that the company was “continually listening” to its colleagues to ensure the company was a good place to work.

Findlater continued: “We want to do all we can to support colleagues who find themselves in this heart-breaking situation and we hope the introduction of Neonatal Leave will provide some peace of mind so that their focus can be on their baby without having to worry about pay or using up their maternity, paternity or adoption leave.”

The policy builds on similar initiatives introduced by Marks & Spencer over recent years, including a dedicated fertility treatment policy allowing employees up to 10 days off to attend appointments of up to three rounds of fertility treatment.

It also adds to the company’s flexible working offer, ‘Worklife’, launched last year to allow retail managers the option of flexible hours.