The Company, jointly or individually referring to Never Grow Up Workshops Private Limited, Yellow Seed Content Solutions Private Limited, SPRD | Stories. PR. Digital & Good Wave Foundation is elated to offer paid parental leave to team member/s following the birth of a team member/s’s child, surrogacy, or the placement of a child with a team member/s in connection with adoption or foster care.

The aim is to offer comprehensive leave to team member/s to effectively manage emotional, biological, and psychological changes that come with being a parent & allow team member/s paid time off to take care of their health and well-being and bond with their child before returning to work.

There’s a little more to it.

In order to be eligible for parental leave, you need to have worked with the Company for a minimum of 90 days in the last 12 calendar months. Psst! This does not include your mandatory probation period. Just in case you do not meet the eligibility requirement, worry not! You are more than welcome to avail unpaid parental leaves.

While crafting this policy, we wanted to make sure we did not differentiate or distinguish between gender, marital status, orientation and/or gender identity. This policy is meant for everyone and follows one singular guideline.

If you are a full-time team member who is about to become a parent under any of these circumstances, this is for you!

• Becoming a birth parent or,

• You are legally adopting a child (i.e. adoptive parent) or,

• Are a commissioning parent. (i.e. in case of a child born through surrogacy) or,

• Choose to become a surrogate carrier who will bear a child for another person or people or,

• Are about to become a foster parent or,

• You are directly involved in any of the above scenarios as a partner or primary care provider.

Becoming a parent changes your life and we want to be there to support you, in the best possible way we can. Whether you are a birth parent, an adoptive parent, a commissioning parent, a surrogate parent or a foster parent, the following paid benefits are available to you for the birth/ adoption/ surrogacy/ fostering up to a maximum of two instances (irrespective of the number of children each instance) of you becoming a parent during your tenure with the Company. While the freedom to become a parent as many times as you like rests completely with you, paid leave benefits would only apply to the first two instances of you becoming a parent.

For a birth parent, irrespective of your gender or identity, you are eligible for a total of up to 26 calendar weeks of parental leave. If you like, you may start your leave any time before the expected date of delivery, or within 6 months after the birth of your child. Irrespective of the date you start the leave, it must be availed as one continuous block of 26 weeks.

For an adoptive and/or a commissioning parent, you are eligible for a total of up to 12 calendar weeks from the date the child is handed over to you, as the case may be. You may avail 02 calendar weeks out of the 12 calendar weeks prior to the date the child is/ children are handed over to you. If you have not started your leave prior to the date when the child is/ children are handed over, the parental leave will start from the day the child is/ children are handed over to you.

For a surrogate parent you are eligible for a total of up to 16 calendar weeks of parental leave. You may start your leave up to 04 calendar weeks before the expected date of delivery. If you have not started your leave prior to the delivery date, the parental leave will start from the day the child/ children is/ are born.

For a foster parent, you are eligible for a total of up to 04 calendar weeks each instance.

Any paid parental leave that you avail are inclusive of company mandated holidays, weekends, ‘no work’ days and public holidays. We do however require that you avail your paid parental leave in one continuous block.

In case you voluntarily return to work at any point earlier than the above mentioned/ available leaves, your leave benefit will cease, and the remaining days will be forfeited. This excludes instances where temporary guidance/ intervention is provided.

While we hope that you never have to see that day, some of the experiences that we face in life demand a little extra support along the way. In the rare unfortunate event that any of the below circumstances take place, the following benefits are applicable to you with respect to any number of incidents.

Irrespective of your gender or orientation, in the event of a miscarriage, or the child/children being stillborn or in a situation of a declared medical termination of pregnancy, you are eligible for a total of up to 06 calendar weeks of paid leave immediately following the unfortunate circumstance.

You will also be eligible for an extended parental leave of 4 weeks (paid) in case of an illness due to any of the following reasons - pregnancy, delivery, stillborn, medical termination of pregnancy, premature birth of child, or tubectomy / vasectomy operation on a case to case basis upon advisement by your medical practitioner.

You can avail this leave after sharing relevant documents with us. This includes a prescription with recommendation of leave from a registered medical practitioner. If an extended parental leave is taken after the delivery of the child, this leave must be taken before the child turns one year of age and will be in line with company leave policy that year.

You must inform your Line Manager and HRBP/Admin at least 60 days before starting your parental leave. Providing as much notice as possible also helps us all plan work more efficiently during your absence. If you wish to take a sabbatical before or immediately after availing parental leave, you need to discuss with your Line Manager with a minimum notice period of 60 days.

We also understand that not all leave can be planned. In case the need for leave is not foreseeable, you must request the leave as far in advance as reasonably practical (generally the same day or next day after you became aware of the need for leave).

You can submit your application for parental leave to your Line Manager and HRBP/Admin along with your doctor’s certification of the expected date of delivery or relevant document for adoption or surrogacy, at least 60 days before the start date of your parental leave.

If there are any changes to the scheduled date, you must notify your Line Manager and HRBP/Admin of the new return to work date as soon as possible. We may require additional documentation and certification from you.

Yes, we mean literally. Ergonomic seating will be provided to expectant team member/s during pregnancy and after their return to the workplace upon request. If the team member/s chooses to avail the flexible work option, seating will be provided at home as well.

We’ve always made mental health and well-being a priority, and this time is no different. As a team member, you already have access to a professional counselor, who is an expert in health and family counselling to guide you across aspects of emotional well-being. In case you'd prefer a counselor outside our panel, you can do so. Expenses towards counselor fees are reimbursable to the parent at a cap of Rs. 3,000/- per month. This can be availed till your child/children complete 1 year of age.

While we can’t wait to hear your stories and take a look at pictures of the new addition to your family, we think it’s important for you to have a couple of flexible work options to simply enable a seamless transition from parental leave and help you ease back into work. Here you go!

These flexible work options are open to you for a period of 6 months anytime until the child turns two years in scenarios where the role and work context allows for flexible work timings.

Work from Home

You may choose to work from home for up to 3 days in a work week or at the discretion of your manager and HR. All you need to do is discuss this and obtain approval from your Line Manager and HRBP. Your compensation, leave, employment status, nature & quantum of work will not be affected.

Quiet Time

Need a few hours to work without any distractions? You are welcome to work from your nearest co-working space should you require a quiet spot, away from home. In the event that the Company’s workplace at the time is at a considerable distance from your place of residence and/or if you simply prefer to be closer to home, this option is available to you. The only thing we ask is for you to communicate your requirement to your Line Manager and HRBP at least 45 days prior should you wish to avail these flexible work options. (if necessary, before returning from parental leave).

Crèche Facilities

You also have the option to avail childcare support in the form of a crèche either near the Company’s workplace or near your place of residence. An allowance of Rs. 3000/- per month can be reimbursed until your child turns two, once you return to work.

We mean, having a career and a family! To keep things simple, what we’re trying to say is that your parental leave will have no impact on increments/appraisals and upon return, you will be eligible for increments based on performance during the year.

Upon your return, we will only evaluate your performance based on the number of days you were actively present in the given appraisal cycle.

Once you become a parent, do make sure you enroll your child as a dependent in our group medical insurance policy. This should be done as soon as you procure the birth certificate of your child/children. Up to two children are covered from the day of their birth.

While on parental leave, we will maintain the same benefits coverage you have as an active team member/s (subject to plan provisions), for the full duration of the leave. If you do not return from leave, these benefits will cease as of the last of day of your leave.

You will continue to accumulate paid leaves as per the leave policy while you are on parental leave.

• Salary payouts for paid parental leave will be disbursed every month

• There will be no option available to en-cash any (un-availed) leaves

• Additional documentation and certification may be required for verification purposes

While we will continue to do everything we can to share your joy, provide you with the support you need and be there for you as we always have, we would also like to be transparent about the following circumstances, should they occur.

Team member/s who fail to return within three days of the specified return to work date, accept other employment (including self-employment) while on leave, or are found to have falsified any information about the leave, including dates and reasons for the leave, may be terminated with immediate effect with no pay.

Team member/s who choose to hand in their notice after parental leave will be required to serve a mandatory notice period as per the standard company Exit Policy.

Team member/s who choose to resign during the tenure of the parental leave will be liable to reimburse the company for any parental leave benefits over and above paid parental leaves that they might have availed. This includes psychological support, crèche facilities, flexible workplace options, ergonomic seating, etc.

In case the team member/s does not return from the parental leave the FnF (full and final settlements) will be calculated while factoring leave and exit policies and the balance will be transferred as per the company policy within 45 days of the exit letter sign-off.

This decision for any exceptions in such instances lies with the management.