Bank of Ireland brings in suite of new family policies for staff

Bank of Ireland Group has announced a range of new and enhanced family policies and supports for staff.

Launched to 9,000 employees across the group on Tuesday, the new benefits include a seven week top-up of parental leave for parents in the first two years, as well as 13 weeks paid leave for partners, when coupled with paternity leave enhancements adopted in 2022.

The bank is also introducing 33 weeks paid leave for parents availing of maternity, surrogacy or adoptive leave.

Furthermore, Bank of Ireland said it was introducing new provision for foster care leave, including 10 days leave for colleagues undergoing fertility treatments, as well as formalising surrogacy leave to match adoptive leave entitlements.

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There is also early pregnancy leave for the loss of a baby under 24 weeks gestation, as well as extended breastfeeding breaks for parents with a child up to two-years of age.

Bank of Ireland chief executive Myles O’Grady said: “As one of the largest employers in Ireland, we want to build a progressive workplace and contribute to a progressive society.

“This is also important for our business which competes hard to attract and retain the talent we need to serve our customers, support growing businesses, and also grow as a company.

“There is no one-size-fits-all for families, so our people policies aim to support a range of scenarios, including when colleagues face very challenging circumstances.”

He said the suite of initiatives was “the culmination of a number of significant policy improvements” implemented to ensure a “supportive and inclusive culture” for all staff.

“A key part of this is supporting colleagues throughout their careers and the milestones in their lives, like becoming a parent or a carer,” he said.