This fintech's paid-leave policy now includes 'me days' and time off for pregnancy loss

One of the best ways employers can take care of their employees at work is by making sure they have enough time away from it.

To ensure employees feel adequately supported and rested, fintech company Wise recently expanded their paid-leave policies, adding additional days to their preexisting sick and parental-leave offerings and introducing a new set of days including time off for personal time and pregnancy loss.

“Now is a really pivotal time,” says Candace Smith, regional people operations lead for the Americas at Wise. “Candidates, as well as current long-term employees, are looking for flexibility. People need to take a step away from work, whether it's to spend time with loved ones or just do something simple like doing laundry.”

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The company now offers 18 fully-paid weeks of parental leave for birth or adoption for employees who have been at Wise for more than a year by the due date or adoption date, 15 days of sick leave per year, three ‘me’ days employees can use at their own discretion and 10 days of fully-paid leave for any employee affected by pregnancy loss, including those who are partners or surrogate mothers.

“We didn't want our employees to feel like they didn't have options,” Smith says. “We wanted to add that extra layer of support. We have had employees who have suffered from pregnancy loss, and we didn't want them to feel pressure to either come back to work too early or dip into another form of time off.”

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In a professional culture where taking time off comes with a stigma — 58% of employees avoid using their sick days out of fear of retribution from their boss, according to a recent study conducted by Theraflu — it’s important to encourage workers to prioritize their personal needs. If there’s anything the pandemic has taught employers and employees alike, it’s that wellness is key to being productive both inside and outside the office, according to Smith.

“[The additional paid leave] was just a huge weight lifted off of employees’ shoulders,” she says. “And we're not just saying these things — we're actually implementing plans for leaves that they can take advantage of immediately and continue to feel that support that they’ve always been promised.”