Novartis has welcomed the opportunity to be part the new Family Friendly Workplaces accreditation initiative, which not only assesses how it’s doing, but also lays out a plan for raising the bar in the future.
Family Friendly Workplaces (FFW) is a new initiative from UNICEF and Australia and Parents At Work that gives organisations the tools, frameworks and support they need to become more inclusive and supportive of employees’ as they strive to address competing work and family needs.
Country President of Novartis Australia and New Zealand, Richard Tew said that the move is just the next step in Novartis’ Australia’s quest to have the highest standards possible to support inclusivity in its’ workforce.
"Novartis is immensely proud of our ongoing commitment to support equality. In 2019 we rolled out our upgraded parental leave policy which included a partnership with Parents At Work to provide coaching for people who were planning to take, taking or returning from parental leave. Our leave policy offers a minimum of 14 weeks paid leave and is applicable to either parent following the birth, surrogacy or adoption of a child, effective from their first day of employment.
"Since then, we have also rolled out a public EPIC pledge focussed on equal pay for equal work, including strategies for pay transparency and a new flexible working policy which has made Novartis an even more supportive workplace for our parents and family carers.
"What’s equally important is fostering a culture that enables parents and carers to balance their homelife as a priority. This is arguably where I have seen the most progress in my last almost 20 years of being a working parent. I am proud to say that Novartis is a workplace where we are seeing more and more dads taking leave and balancing childcare commitments with work – which is an important driver of gender equality.
"But the work doesn’t stop there, which is why we are pleased that the accreditation process will provide an action-oriented plan for the creation of a family friendly workplace culture that will keep improving our standards.
"Ultimately, a supportive environment is an important driver of the wellbeing, job satisfaction and productivity of our people," concludes Mr Tew.
Novartis urges others to also consider taking the first step on a journey towards Family Friendly Workplace culture by expressing interest in the initiative at https://www.familyfriendlyworkplaces.com
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For further information and media enquiries:
Camilla Jury, [email protected] / +61 439 949 776