One year on: Deloitte UK's equal paid parenting leave

One year on: Deloitte UK's equal paid parenting leave

• Deloitte UK celebrates the first anniversary of announcing its equal paid family leave policy, launched in September 2024 and providing 26 weeks (six months) of fully paid leave to both parents from 1 January 2025;
• 625 non-birth parents have applied for equal family leave since its launch;
• As part of the firm's commitment towards creating a workplace that supports colleagues in every stage of their life, the firm has also enhanced support for carers, those receiving fertility treatment, and those with babies in neonatal care.

Deloitte UK's equal family leave policy, launched in September 2024 and offering 26 weeks (six months) of full pay from 1 January 2025, is approaching its first anniversary.

Over 625 non-birth parents have applied for leave, with 360 already taking leave, averaging 23 weeks. Nearly all of them (95%) are taking additional paid leave and 84% are taking or intending to take the full 26 weeks (six months).

Jackie Henry, managing partner for people and purpose at Deloitte, commented: "Our family leave policy is a significant step towards becoming an even more family-friendly place to work. It supports our people in balancing work and family responsibilities from the early days of parenthood, ultimately fostering greater gender equality in the workplace. In addition, the further enhancements to carers’ leave, neonatal leave and fertility support normalise taking time off work for the moments that matter in life.

“It’s brilliant seeing the first colleagues benefiting from our new policy and hearing about the difference it’s making. We were confident that enhancing our family leave policies was the right thing to do, but the sheer volume of positive messages shared by our people surpassed our expectations.

“We need to keep on creating a culture where everyone feels empowered to take full advantage of the support available, without fear of stigma or career repercussions. We’ll continue to review and evolve our policies to meet our people’s changing needs.”

In September 2024, the firm also enhanced carer support, providing employees with long-term caregiving responsibilities with up to five additional paid leave days annually.

Family leave: more than just time off

Chris, a director in Deloitte's economic advisory team, is currently on his six-month family leave after welcoming his third child, Ruby.

He said: "Welcoming Ruby into our family was made even more special by the firm's new family leave policy. Previously, I only had two weeks of family leave, which felt like insufficient time for bonding with my newborn twins and supporting my wife. This six-month leave has been transformative. This policy's success is not just about the leave itself, but also the supportive culture at Deloitte that empowers us to take advantage of it. My colleagues have been incredibly understanding and accommodating."

Zarar, a manager in Deloitte's technology & transformation business, welcomed his first child, Eliz, earlier this year. He also took advantage of Deloitte's extended paid family leave, taking six months off, so he could actively participate in his daughter's early life.

He said: "The extended paid family leave allowed me to fully support my wife and bond with Eliz. Having the time to learn, laugh, and grow as a family was invaluable, especially since our immediate family live abroad. My team has been incredibly supportive throughout the entire process, both before my leave and once I returned to work."

Ends

*Please note data on the uptake of leave is accurate as of Friday 22^nd August 2025

Notes to editors

In October 2022, Deloitte announced significant enhancements to its maternity and adoption and surrogacy policy, increasing the time off at full pay to 26 weeks and making this a day-one right. The eligibility criteria for Deloitte’s paternity leave policy, with full pay for four weeks, was also changed to a day-one right.  In 2025, the new policy of 26 weeks' fully paid family leave became a day-one right.

Deloitte policies announced in September 2024:

• Deloitte introduced a new family leave policy that equalises pay for all parents, which is 26 weeks of full pay from 1 January 2025.
• Strengthened support for those undergoing fertility treatment by giving paid time off for fertility appointments.
• Additional paid leave for parents whose child requires neonatal care for up to 12 weeks.
• Increased support for carers by offering our people with long-term caregiving roles the opportunity to take up to an additional five days of paid leave per year.

This is in addition to our existing support for working parents, including:·

• Our Working Parents Transitions Programme helps parents and their team leaders manage the transition into parenthood as smoothly as possible.
• If an employee’s primary childcare or eldercare arrangements have fallen through unexpectedly, we provide emergency back-up care, for example: a day at nursery, a childminder, holiday club or home carer.  We offer five fully-subsidised and five part-subsidised sessions per year.
• Deloitte’s Working Families network connects parents, prospective parents and carers across the firm so they can share best practices, resources, ideas, information, or simply swap stories.
• Deloitte’s diversity networks offer informal peer support for parents, including Proud Families, the Neurodiversity Network, and Workability.
• Our hybrid working approach reflects our shared values and our firm fundamentals and is built on two-way open and honest conversations around what will enable our people to do their best work, while meeting the expectations of our clients and leaders.
• We also offer various formal flexible working arrangements such as part-time working and annualised term time working.
• Deloitte’s Time Out scheme enables our people to take a four-week period of unpaid leave once a year, for any reason, at a time that suits them and the business. Our aim is to ensure that all our people are able to balance their lives outside work with a successful and fulfilling career.
• Our Ways of Working Framework is a tool to support open and honest conversations about ways of working preferences. It's a way for our teams to discuss hybrid ways of working and to collectively agree an approach that works for everyone.