Vodafone Ireland introduces paid carer's leave for staff

Vodafone’s new employee support offers ten days of paid leave for carers to meet the likes of hospital appointments and therapy sessions without having to take unpaid leave or time away from work.

Pictured as Vodafone Ireland launch its new Support for Carers are; Elaine Kelly Large Business Propositions Manager at Vodafone Ireland, and champion of Vodafone’s new Carers Support, and her son Daniel, 13. Pic: Naoise Culhane

Vodafone Ireland has announced new supports for employees who are carers, including ten additional days of paid leave and flexible working options.

The communications provider has said its new ‘Caring for Vulnerable Others’ support for employees is the first of its kind in Ireland, as it will extend not just to employees caring for immediate family members but to staff who play a principal role in caring for any ‘loved one’ including a close friend or neighbour.

Currently, statutory Carer’s Leave provides for between 13 and 104 weeks of unpaid leave for employees taking on a full-time caring role.

Vodafone’s new employee support allows those with long-term caring responsibilities to continue working, offering ten days of paid leave for carers to meet the likes of hospital appointments and therapy sessions without having to take unpaid leave or time away from work.

The support is not limited to those caring for people with a serious illness, and the ten days of extra paid leave equates to 75 working hours that can be taken flexibly.

Elaine Kelly is Large Business Propositions Manager at Vodafone Ireland, and as a primary carer for her autistic son Daniel is a champion of the new support.

“This kind of support will make a massive difference to me and my family. While Daniel was diagnosed at the age of four, the therapies required for him are ongoing including intensive Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy, which generally take place during the working week. This new support comes at a great time and will give me the flexibility to choose therapy slots that suit Daniel and not the other way round,” she said.

Pictured as Vodafone Ireland launch its new Support for Carers initiative, are; (L-R) Elaine Kelly, Large Business Propositions Manager at Vodafone Ireland; Noelle Burke, HR Director at Vodafone Ireland; and Karen Dalton, Head of Employee Relations at Vodafone Ireland.  Pic: Naoise Culhane

The new support was underpinned by recent research from Family Carers Ireland, which showed that of the carers in Ireland, 250,000 are juggling a career alongside their caring responsibilities and over half (55%) of carers have been forced to give up on full-time employment to care for a loved one.

Half of carers say that their caring responsibilities are holding them back from promotion, along with 41% of working mothers saying that being a parent to a child with disabilities is holding them back from promotion.

Catherine Cox, Head of Communications and Policy at Family Carers Ireland said that Vodafone’s initiative “will provide employees juggling care in the home with their careers with a much-needed lifeline as well as great flexibility in terms of how and when they use these additional supports”, and she encouraged other employers to follow suit with practical and tangible supports for carers.

The ‘Caring for Vulnerable Others’ support is one of a range of supports introduced by Vodafone for employees at different stages of life. Others include 26 weeks paid maternity leave and 16 weeks leave for non-birthing parents, as well as supports around domestic violence, menopause, fertility treatment and pregnancy loss.