Family company: Spotify brings in six-month parental leave – StartupSmart

Employees at music streaming service Spotify are the latest tech employees to receive an improved paid parental leave package.

All full-time Spotify workers can now take six months’ leave while still claiming 100% of their pay packet. The time off can be taken all at once, or split it into separate periods before their child’s third birthday.

Employees who’ve had children since the start of 2013 will also qualify for the benefit.

And it doesn’t end there. When leave expires, parents will then be offered a month-long transition program, giving them the choice of working from home on a part-time schedule to ensure their re-entry into the workplace is a smooth one.

“This policy best defines who we are as a company, born out of a Swedish culture that places an emphasis on a healthy work/family balance, gender equality, and the ability for every parent to spend quality time with the people that matter most in their lives,” Spotify’s chief human resources officer Katarina Berg says in a statement.

The announcement comes after Netflix and Amazon both announced similar packages in recent months.

Netflix now permits parents unlimited leave during a child’s first year, while Amazon has awarded birth mothers 20 weeks and other parents six weeks’ leave.

The online retailer updated its policy in November after a New York Times expose detailed the company’s “unreasonably high” work expectations and the pressure these were placing on employees’ family lives.

Do you know more on this story or have a tip of your own? Raising capital or launching a startup? Let us know. Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.