Case Study

Deloitte UK

At Deloitte UK, we’ve been on a journey to introduce family-friendly policies over the past few years. Not only are they having a significant impact for our people, we also understand the role we can play in driving positive societal change.

Jackie Henry MBE | Deloitte UK

About Deloitte UK

Listening to our people

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. That means listening to what matters most to them – what’s working well and where we can better support.

We were hearing from our people, particularly women and our Working Families network, about the challenges of balancing careers with family responsibilities. We recognised that we could do more to make sure our family leave policy was truly equitable and reflective of the diverse needs of modern families.

We spent time with these networks and reviewed the feedback we received through our firmwide engagement surveys, our town hall questions and other listening mechanisms. Hearing real stories about the challenges faced by our working parents provided invaluable insight.

In addition, the YouGov research we commissioned provided robust data that underscored the importance of family leave as a key factor in attracting and retaining talent. For example, it revealed that family leave is a top priority for working parents when choosing an employer.

We also found that unequal parenting leave and inflexible work arrangements can have a significant impact on working mothers’ career progression, with over half of working mothers say that if their partner had more parenting leave, it would help them to progress in their careers.

Taking important steps

What makes your organisation family friendly? What family inclusive programs, practices and processes does your organisation currently have in place?

Over the past two years, we’ve been on a journey to eventually introduce a policy that offers equal support to all parents, regardless of gender, fostering a more inclusive and supportive workplace for everyone.

Our ultimate goal was introducing our new policy, but we made sure to identify milestones along the way to help us make some meaningful interim changes. With that mind, we made significant enhancements to our maternity and adoption and surrogacy policy in October 2022 to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to greater equality in family responsibilities.

We also worked closely with our Working Families Network, Gender Balance Network and Inclusion Council to gather personal experiences and feedback to inform our approach and help us build a strong business case.

And of course, we demonstrated the positive impact of enhanced family leave policies on talent attraction, retention and employee wellbeing. We also highlighted the link between supporting working parents and driving gender equality, and made sure that our plans included a focus on sharing our lessons with other organisations, to help drive broader societal change.

Introducing the policy

What has the response been to the introduction of an equal family leave policy?

In September 2024, Deloitte announced an equal family leave policy, meaning all our new parents are eligible for 26 weeks’ fully paid leave from 1 January 2025. These changes are part of a wider, enhanced family and carers leave package for our people, including paid time off for neonatal care, caring responsibilities and fertility treatment.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve received hundreds of messages of support and appreciation from our people, many of whom have shared how the new policy will make a real difference in their lives, as well as Deloitte alumni. I’ve also had many messages from our own clients, and other organisations, asking to understand our approach to enhancing our family leave policies at Deloitte UK.

We recognise that implementing a policy is just the first step. The really important work starts now, making sure continue to create a culture where everyone feels empowered to take full advantage of the support available, without fear of stigma or career repercussions.

Outcomes

Next steps and advice

It’s been encouraging, enriching and a pleasure to share our experience to support others on their journey.  The advice I have for other businesses who are considering enhancing their policies is to start by listening to your people and understanding their needs. This will help you build a strong business case that highlights the benefits of enhanced family leave policies, not just for colleagues but for the organisation as a whole.

Each employer will be at different points in their own journey. As an employer of 26,000 people in the UK, we are able to take such steps to enhancing our family leave provisions, but good may look different in other organisations. Focus on developing a simple business case and case for change for why becoming a family friendly employer is important for your people, your organisation and of course broader society.

Don’t be afraid to be ambitious with your goals, but also be realistic about what’s achievable, mapping out the journey and taking incremental steps as needed. Finally, remember that implementing a policy is just the beginning – fostering a truly inclusive culture is an ongoing journey, so celebrate the small wins, stay focused on the big picture and keep going!