Colgate-Palmolive India Introduces 12-Week Supportive Caregiver Leave For New Parents

Colgate-Palmolive (India) has announced an industry-leading step to extend its parental leave policy reflecting its commitment to fostering a more inclusive and equitable workplace. Under the new policy, supportive caregivers previously entitled to 4 weeks of fully paid leave will now get 12 weeks, setting a new standard in the industry.

Primary caregivers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day care of the child. Secondary caregivers, such as partners, spouses, or other family members, support them in caring for the child. This policy covers biological parents, adoptive parents, and those involved in surrogacy.

Caregivers will have the flexibility to take their leave in up to 3 tranches, with no more than 2 months per tranche. The time period for availing leave has also been extended from within 6 months to within 12 months of the child’s birth or adoption. This change aims to address the issue of women dropping out of the workforce by encouraging shared parenting. By allowing caregivers more flexibility in how they take their leave, we hope to support a better balance between work and family responsibilities, ultimately retaining more women in the workforce.

Balaji Sreenivasan, Executive Vice-President, HR, Colgate-Palmolive India, expressed, “This policy change is one step further in our journey of making Colgate a more inclusive workplace. Becoming a parent is often a daunting & life-changing event and through this move, we want to promote shared parenting - where both the partners get a chance to be a part of the child's infancy journey and can support each other in early childcare, without work related anxieties.”

Furthermore, the revised policy extends the option of additional remote working days under Colgate-Palmolive’s WIN (Workplace Inclusivity) policy. To ensure smooth planning, caregivers are required to provide a 3-month advance notice for leaves of 4 weeks or more, which is a new addition to the policy.