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Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

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Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#31
post #3

That seems great. Is there any protection from abuse? It seems that one could say "See you next year" with this and get a year-long vacation. Is that accurate. Would that actually work? Is there any contract saying you won't take your year off and quit on your last day? OR is this all hinging on you getting a continued workload complete, and not just a year vacation.

Several people I know have taken care of newborns, and the idea that they were taking a "vacation" is ridiculous. It's a 24-hour-a-day sleep-deprivation-heavy job.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#32
post #26
post #3

That seems great. Is there any protection from abuse? It seems that one could say "See you next year" with this and get a year-long vacation. Is that accurate. Would that actually work? Is there any contract saying you won't take your year off and quit on your last day? OR is this all hinging on you getting a continued workload complete, and not just a year vacation.

> It seems that one could say "See you next year" with this and get a year-long vacation. LOL. Going to work is a vacation compared to taking care of an infant.

Dad of 11 month old. Can confirm.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#34
post #14
post #3

That seems great. Is there any protection from abuse? It seems that one could say "See you next year" with this and get a year-long vacation. Is that accurate. Would that actually work? Is there any contract saying you won't take your year off and quit on your last day? OR is this all hinging on you getting a continued workload complete, and not just a year vacation.

Having a newborn is not a year long vacation. While it's possible that some employees could abuse a year of maternity/paternity leave by quitting after the one year term, I imagine this move will greatly increase company loyalty amongst new, potential and existing parents.

Having a newborn isn't a task put against you. You elected for it. Don't perpetuate the idea that some credit is owed to parents as if it's not a year long vacation.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#35

Doesn't Netflix already offer unlimited vacation? Parental leave isn't vacation, of course, but the cynic in me thinks this is another example of a case where a corporation can benevolently offer the moon while replying on peer pressure to ensure that no employee accepts what is on offer to anywhere near its fullest extent. Does Netflix publish any stats about vacation usage?

Although the word "unlimited" gets thrown around in casual usage, of course no company is going to pay you forever if you never show up for a day of work. You've still got to get your job done at a high level perspective (say quarterly) but the idea is that management is not tracking every hour you show up to work or decide to take off; they're looking at results not attendance.

In that light I'm reading this as essentially setting the expectations bar very low, potentially to nothing, for a year.

Basically this policy and pretty much all of Netflix's policies come down to behaving like a professional and treating other people with the same expectations. If you lose that culture and either side starts to misbehave of course things could go very badly. But that culture is very important to Netflix and they are always working consciously to preserve it.

I haven't seen any official stats about vacation (as someone else pointed out, in order to do that they'd have to track it) but I've never known anyone to have a problem with it. I've seen quite a few people take 3 weeks or so at a time because they're going overseas, and in Silicon Valley that's pretty unheard of.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, I don't speak for the company, yada, yada. I'm just a rank and file employee interpreting what I know.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#37
post #3

That seems great. Is there any protection from abuse? It seems that one could say "See you next year" with this and get a year-long vacation. Is that accurate. Would that actually work? Is there any contract saying you won't take your year off and quit on your last day? OR is this all hinging on you getting a continued workload complete, and not just a year vacation.

I have ten-month-old twins, and I took six weeks of paternity leave when they were born (I don't work for Netflix). And I love my kids to bits, but by that point, getting to come to work every day felt more like a vacation than being at home did.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#38

"With this in mind, today we’re introducing an unlimited leave policy for new moms and dads that allows them to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption" Ah, unlimited for a year. So no taking 30 years off after your child is born then.

> So no taking 30 years off after your child is born then.

That's simple - just keep having children. Time it right and you can take off permanently for decades.

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#39
"We want employees to have the flexibility and confidence to balance the needs of their growing families without worrying about work or finances ... Each employee ... works with their managers for coverage during their absences."

So, the conversation could be just "Hey manager as per the new policy, I would like to be a full-time mum / dad for the next 12 months; will you arrange cover for me?" Is that right, no questions asked?

If Netflix's "unlimited vacation" policy actually meant that, they surely wouldn't need to publish a _second_ "unlimited" parental leave policy as well?

Re: Netflix Announces Its New ‘Unlimited’ Maternity and Paternity Leave Program

#40
post #9

"With this in mind, today we’re introducing an unlimited leave policy for new moms and dads that allows them to take off as much time as they want during the first year after a child’s birth or adoption" Ah, unlimited for a year. So no taking 30 years off after your child is born then.

So basically what Canadians and Europeans get?

It's paid by the government over there, not the company. Not sure about different places in Europe, but it's also not paid at 100% (at least in Canada)
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