Tate & Lyle PLC, a global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, is pleased to announce a new Equal Parental Leave Policy which will provide employees across the world with a minimum of 16 weeks full-paid parental leave covering birth, adoption, foster to adopt, and surrogacy.

The new policy, which is currently being rolled out globally, applies to both birthing and non-birthing parents regardless of gender, marital status or sexual orientation, and allows employees to take parental leave any time within the first 12 months of a child entering the home.

Laura Hagan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Tate & Lyle, commented: “Government guidance on parental leave differs considerably by country and many colleagues have told us that, in some countries, the time provided simply isn’t enough. We sincerely hope this policy will enable both parents to spend valuable bonding time with their new child or children, without having to worry about financial constraints."

“This is just one of a number of enhancements we are making to our policies and working practices to provide more flexible and family friendly ways of working, and to ensure that, in line with our purpose, we become a more equitable and inclusive business.”