US clothing rental company Rent the Runway is to offer employees based in Ireland 20 weeks fully paid family leave.
The move is part of the company’s gender neutral family leave policy, and applies to any employee who adopts a child, becomes a parent through surrogacy, is a birth parent, or whose partner is a birth parent after working at Rent the Runway for at least one year.
The paid family leave can begin in the first year of the child’s birth.
Employees with less service than that will be entitled to leave scaled proportionally to their tenure with the business, with those with the company between six and 12 months entitled to 13 weeks, and under six months entitled to six weeks leave.
Statutory policy in Ireland allows for 26 weeks maternity leave paid through social welfare at a rate of €245 taxed and two weeks paid paternity leave to parents of a child under one, or during the first year of adoption.
"Rent the Runway strives to recognise and support the many facets and phases of employees' lives and foster a culture that allows them to thrive both personally and professionally," said Rent the Runway vice-president and managing director for Ireland Dorothy Creaven. "We are proud to support all families by giving every parent the opportunity to have quality time with their children. Our family leave policy further underlines Rent the Runway's strong commitment to parental equality and will make a significant difference to Rent the Runway employees in Ireland, where traditional companies usually distinguish family leave based on maternity or paternity status."
Rent the Runway opened its first international office in Galway in April 2019. Offering a subscription-based model, the company provides an alternative to buying expensive garments and accessories by allowing subscribers to rent them as needed.
