BNPL Platform Simpl Introduces Menstrual, Adoption And Pet Care Leaves

Payments application Simpl on Monday announced a new leave policy for its employees introducing menstrual leave, family care leave and adoption leave, among others. Employees can also take pet adoption and pet care leaves under the new policy.

"We are cognizant of the varied needs of a diverse workforce to take time off from work. Hence, we have tried to make our leave policy as inclusive and flexible as possible. It allows people to take time off when needed for emergencies, family occasions, personal milestones, or to just relax and rejuvenate," said Sneha Arora, chief human resources officer (CHRO), Simpl.

"We have introduced menstrual leave to empower our female employees with the choice to take an additional day off if they need to. We have revised the maternal and paternal leaves for all employees, which includes adoption and surrogacy. We also have wedding leaves and flexible holidays where employees can choose special occasions like their birthdays, and anniversaries and take time off to celebrate them with their loved ones," Arora added.

Simpl's leave policy states that adoption leave also applies to LGBTQIA+ couples.

For emergencies, the employees can avail of family care leaves in case of emergencies.

"Similarly, in an unfortunate event of a miscarriage, spouses or partners are also allowed to take the time off to support and provide care," the company said in a release.

Moreover, the option to take leaves on "milestone moments" has also been provided.

"There has been the right focus on milestone moments that an employee may go through in their lives. Introduction of leaves around the event of an employee's wedding is one such example," it said.

Also, the employees can take leaves when they get a new pet.

"This provision has been made keeping in mind that during the initial days of adoption, most pets need active attention. The same leaves can be taken for pet care as well," Simpl said.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, several new-age companies have devised innovative leave policies to encourage work from the office.

In November last year, D2C home and sleep solutions platform Wakefit.co launched a "No Questions Asked" wellness leave policy. It provided a no-questions-asked leave to all the employees once a month.

The workforce could avail of these wellness leaves to support their physical, mental, or emotional well-being by "taking time off to unwind and rejuvenate themselves", the platform said in a statement.

In early 2022, Meesho also introduced employee-friendly practices like the 30-week gender-neutral parental leave policy, gender reassignment leave and the 10-day reset and recharge policy.