Markel enhances family leave for UK secondary carers

Markel Insurance has launched an enhancement to its UK family leave offering.

In this enhancement, the paid leave allowance for secondary carers has been increased from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

The change applies to all eligible UK-based employees, regardless of gender, and forms part of Markel’s wider suite of policies designed to support those with caring responsibilities across different life stages.

Jo Browning, chief people officer, said: “I’m delighted to announce the launch of our enhanced secondary carer leave, which reflects Markel’s commitment to supporting our people during life’s important moments.

”This is more than just a policy enhancement. Coupled with the launch of our community circles for new parents, anchor days and a focus on guidance for people managers, it’s about creating confidence and consistency for our people taking family leave.

Normalising extended leave

Secondary carer leave is available to those employees whose partner has given birth or where they have become an adoptive parent, including through surrogacy.

Alongside the policy enhancement, Markel is continuing to invest in practical support to help its people take parental leave with confidence.

This includes leadership endorsement, peer support initiatives for expectant and returning parents and access to guidance and tools for employees and managers to support planning before, during and after periods of leave.

Browning continued: “We also know that secondary carer leave can play an important role in creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace by helping normalise extended leave and supporting shared caregiving responsibilities.

”We want our people to feel equally empowered to take time away from work to support their families without concern that doing so is viewed differently depending on gender or role. We see this as a fundamental part of not only creating resilient teams and a sustainable business, but cultivating a people-powered organisation.”