Volvo Offers 24 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave to All Employees Worldwide

[Photo by Volvo Cars Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Volvo Cars will introduce a 'Family Bonding Enhancement' policy starting next month on the 1st, granting over 40,000 production and office employees worldwide 24 weeks of paid parental leave.

Volvo Cars Korea announced on the 31st that Volvo Cars headquarters will implement the family bonding enhancement policy for employees worldwide. This policy allows employees with more than one year of service, regardless of gender, to use paid parental leave at any time within three years after becoming a parent. During the parental leave period, employees will receive 80% of their base salary without any cap.

In particular, the policy applies to all legally recognized parents regardless of childbirth status, including adoption, foster care, surrogate parents, and same-sex couples. Ambiguous terms such as 'up to 24 weeks' have also been excluded.

Volvo explained that it plans to share participation results of the new policy to demonstrate its commitment to closing the gender gap. Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo's CEO, stated, "We want to create a culture where parenting participation is equal regardless of gender," adding, "Supporting parents to balance work and family is a way to close gender gaps and help them achieve excellent performance in their careers."

Volvo revealed that its new global policy was inspired by Sweden's parental leave system.

Based on this, a pilot program conducted in 2019 across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa showed that 46% of all applicants were men. Volvo reported that employees highly appreciated the policy for being gender-neutral, inclusive, and flexible.

Hanna Fager, Head of Corporate and HR, said, "The introduction of this policy means more than simply establishing a new parental leave system for employees; it embodies Volvo Cars' organizational culture and values," adding, "By reducing the gender gap and securing a more diverse workforce, we will enhance performance and further strengthen our business."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.