Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, has expanded its parental leave policy for employees at its U.S. headquarters in Kentucky, California and Texas.
Employees who give birth are now entitled to 18 paid weeks off, and other parents — including adoptive and foster parents — are entitled to six paid weeks off. Yum! Brands’ previous policy allowed for six to eight weeks off.
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“This expanded parental time off and baby bonding benefit builds on our strong legacy of investing in our people and culture to fuel great results and continuously providing meaningful ways to help our employees be and contribute their best at work and at home,” said Tracy Skeans, chief transformation and people officer at Yum! Brands, in a release.
Under the U.S.’s Family and Medical Leave Act, certain companies must offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a new child or a seriously ill relative. There is no requirement to provide paid leave.
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According to a 2016 report by Paid Leave for the United States, frontline staff working in Yum! Brands’ restaurants, which are franchised, are not offered any paid parental leave.
The release also noted corporate employees are now offered half-day Fridays throughout the year, a minimum of four weeks vacation, two additional bonus weeks off in their 10th, 20th or 30th year of service. The company also offers financial assistance for adoption services and infertility treatments, as well as for autism support services.