Peak announces new maternity leave policy

By Peak on December 17, 2020

Here at Peak, we've been striving to build a diverse and inclusive team from the outset. It's a continuous journey, and there's more we can do in terms of gender diversity – which is why we've recently overhauled the maternity policy at Peak.

As well as wanting to attract new, diverse talent to the business, we needed to ensure we had a great maternity leave policy in place to support our existing team. Research shows that having a supportive maternity leave policy lowers attrition rates:

When Google noticed that they were losing women who had just given birth at twice the rate of other employees, they increased their maternity leave from three months at partial pay to five months at full pay. The attrition rate dropped by 50%.

Caroline Criado Perez

Invisible Women, 2020

When defining our new policy, there were three core values that we wanted to have at the center of it:

  • Support new life and families. We wanted our team to be able to start and grow their families at Peak, so our policies must offer sufficient support for families
  • Attract more talent. We have ambitious growth plans and goals for diversity in the team, so it’s important to us to have policies in place that allow this to happen
  • Encourage people to stay. The team we’re building is irreplaceable, and we want to people to stay at Peak. Our policies need to ensure people feel valued

With all of this in mind, we’re very excited to announce our new policy, which provides support for current and future employees across all of our offices.

Please note that SMP refers to Statutory Maternity Pay, which – as of December 2020 – is £151.20 per week.

Using the policy for the first time at Peak

  • Less than nine months since joining Peak
    • Six weeks at 90% pay + 33 weeks at equivalent of SMP
  • After nine months since joining Peak
    • 20 full weeks’ pay + 19 weeks at SMP
  • After three years since joining Peak
    • 26 full weeks’ pay + 13 weeks at SMP

Using the policy for a subsequent time with one year at Peak

  • Less than nine months back at Peak
    • Six weeks at 90% pay + 33 weeks at SMP
  • After nine months back at Peak
    • 20 full weeks’ pay + 19 weeks at SMP
  • After two years back at Peak
    • 26 full weeks’ pay + 13 weeks at SMP

As well as the enhanced maternity pay, members of the team using the policy will also receive their usual benefits, including company share options.

We want to make sure that the support we offer our team doesn’t just end when their maternity leave concludes. Therefore, we will also…

  • Ensure you can return to your role. We don’t want you to worry about what your role will look like when you return, so we’ll work with you to ensure your role is as similar as possible
  • Support part-time work. We understand that caring for your family does not end after maternity leave, so we’ll help you switch to a part-time role if this is a change you’d like to make
  • Guarantee your career progression. We will ensure that you progress at the same rate as those in similar roles, and work with you to build a a clear career plan

There’s much more to come!

Peak’s new maternity leave policy marks the start of an overhaul of all our parental leave policies. Our Inclusion & Diversity committee continues to work on the ways we can make Peak a more diverse place to work – ensuring that, as we continue to grow, the diversity of our team grows alongside that.

If you have a question about any of our policies

or would like to discuss any of our open careers opportunities, please reach out to our People team.

Sign up to the Peak newsletter

Get the latest Peak news and AI insights delivered straight to your inbox

Subscribe today!