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Paternity Leave ‘Beneficial for Business’ at Indian Utility
Content Section
January 2021
Research shows that parental leave benefits help companies attract and retain talent, improve retention, increase employee productivity, and promote diversity and inclusion; factors known to improve business performance. Parental leave is the right for employees, both women and men, to take paid or unpaid leave from an organization to care for children or other dependents, while continuing to maintain their employment status. A recent study by Promundo found that women conduct as much as six times the amount of unpaid work that men do, and that providing equal parental leave benefits can help equalize the care burden as fathers spend more time at home with their children. USAID’s Engendering Industries program supported BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)—an Indian energy utility—to develop and roll-out a paternity leave policy; the first of its kind for the company.
“Today both parents are working and child care is the joint responsibility of both parents,” said Alok Varma, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of HR. “Paternity leave is an important tool for increasing gender equality. It strengthens the family unit, allows the father to support his spouse, and encourages couples to share the burden of care for the newborn. It is our experience that men who participate in family care-giving are more satisfied at work and are also more efficient.”
BSES RAJDHANI POWER LIMITED (BRPL)
Formed in 2002, BRPL is a joint venture of Reliance Infrastructure Limited and the government of Delhi. The company serves 2.7 million customers across 750km of South and West Delhi. In April 2019 BRPL partnered with Engendering Industries to increase gender equality and economic opportunities for women across the organization. Of the company’s 2,700 employees, 11 percent are women.
BRPL isn’t the only company that reports a positive correlation between parental leave and improved performance. A Boston Consulting Group study conducted with more than 1,500 employers found that 80 percent of the companies that offer paid family leave experience a positive impact on employee morale, and more than 70 percent report an increase in employee productivity.
“We introduced a new paternity leave policy because implementing paternity leave is an important step in promoting gender equality at home, and in the workplace,” said Puneet Jain, General Manager of Human Resources. “Parenthood becomes less of a challenge when parents share equal responsibility, regardless of gender. Increased parent-child bonding improves the outcome for children, and the marital partnership becomes stronger. Happy parents make happy employees, and happy employees are what make BRPL an employer of choice in India.”
While 15 days of paternity leave are sanctioned for government workers in India, there is no law that mandates private companies offer paternity leave benefits to their employees. In 2019 BRPL introduced the paternity leave benefit, enabling male staff to take a ten day leave after the birth or adoption of a child.
“Paternity leave is a good initiative,” said Anuj Rawat, an Assistant Manager at BRPL. “It helped me build confidence to take care of my child, and allowed the family to bond. When I returned to work after my leave, I felt happy, motivated, and full of energy, which proved beneficial for the business.”
The company, which already had strong paid leave benefits for female employees (26 weeks paid leave for women who give birth and 12 weeks paid leave for women who adopt a child under the age of three months), felt that offering paternity leave would benefit its young workforce. Although research shows that achieving gender equality and reducing bias requires equal maternity and paternity leave benefits, this initial step taken by BRPL is a significant leap in the right direction. The utility implemented this policy to reduce the stress associated with welcoming a newborn into the house, allowing employees to focus exclusively on their responsibilities at home as they settle into fatherhood.
“Paternity leave was an enriching experience which gave me the opportunity to be emotionally and physically available for both mother and child,” said Kumar Gaurav, a Senior Manager at BRPL. “Paternity leave got me more involved in caring for my baby from the start, and gave me more time to bond with my little one. I thank our company for this great initiative to support employees in their initial parenting days.”
Today, BRPL’s male staff are more inspired than ever before to take an active role at home.
“Because the policy was well-defined, I was able to approach my manager confidently to request the ten day leave. Today we live in a nuclear family, and these leave policies allow us to settle into our new phase, create mutual respect and trust, and help us to reconcile our personal and professional life. Now you can happily enjoy your fatherhood.”
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The utility also plans to extend its daycare facilities to male employees. Previously, only female employees had access to the utility’s on-site daycare. By extending services like these to fathers, BRPL emphasizes the important role that fathers play in sharing caregiving responsibilities with their partners.
“These policies allow parents to share equal responsibility during this initial phase,” said Tarun Chauhan, a Senior Manager and Sub Division Officer at BRPL. “You can make the mother feel that you are here for her and for the baby. The partnership becomes stronger. Paternity leave helps the father fulfil their responsibilities with peace of mind, and be present during these important early days.”
The company combats male stereotypes and stigma associated with childcare responsibilities, and is building a supportive culture where men are encouraged—and feel comfortable—to take on more of a family role. Over 20 male employees have used the paternity leave benefit in the last year, modeling behavior that makes their male colleagues feel comfortable using the benefit as well.
“I appreciate and thank BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and every person who helped bring the concept of paternity leave to the company,” said Gopal Krishan Jain, a Deputy General Manager at BRPL.
“Now male employees feel we are able to live more completely, and participate in those first precious moments of life, which should be the right of every father.”