Swiggy Introduces 'Paw-ternity' Policy For Employee Pet Care Support

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New Delhi: Swiggy, the online food delivery platform, announced a new initiative on Thursday to assist its employees with pet care and adoption which is termed as the 'Paw-ternity' policy.

Girish Menon, who is Swiggy's Chief Human Resource Officer shared that Swiggy is expanding its support beyond traditional parental policies. In 2020, they introduced a gender-neutral parental policy offering paid leave for primary and secondary caregivers, along with bonding leaves and time off for various family-related situations like adoption, surrogacy, miscarriage, and IVF. ()

Now, they are broadening their definition of parenthood to include pet parents. This means that starting now, they're introducing the Swiggy Paw-ternity Policy, which will apply to all full-time employees. ()

According to the policy, employees will get an extra paid day off (apart from their regular annual leave) when they bring a new pet home. This initiative was launched on April 11, which is National Pet Day. "Pet parents may opt for work-from-home during the settling-in period to provide comfort and support to their new family member," Menon said in a blog post.

Moreover, pet parents can now use their casual or sick leave without hesitation to attend to the needs of their pets. "Whether it's for a routine vaccination or accompanying a sick or injured pet to a veterinary appointment, the policy allows employees to take the time off they need to care for their pets," Menon said. Swiggy will also offer bereavement leave for pet parents, providing employees with the time they need to grieve and recover from the loss. (With PTI Inputs)