Apple announces additional benefits for new parents

Apple has announced a new benefit to help smooth the transition back to work for new parents, reports Fast Company. 

The tech giant already provides at least 16 weeks of paid leave to birth parents, which is comparable to leave policies adopted by other tech companies. But after talking with new parents—particularly women—about the challenges they faced, Deirdre O’Brien (pictured), Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, told Fast Company she felt there was more the company could do to help ease their transition.

Apple is introducing a policy that will give new parents a four-week grace period after returning from leave. During that time, they will continue to be paid like full-time employees but will have the flexibility to work part-time and set their own hours with their manager’s oversight. 

This applies to all new parents, including those who adopt or take in foster children (though for non-birth parents, paid leave is capped at six weeks). These benefits extend to Apple’s retail workers, as well, who account for nearly half of the company’s employees.

Apple has also expanded leave for adoptive parents by four weeks, along with almost tripling its financial assistance for families that choose to adopt. The tech giant now offsets those costs by $14,000.)