Allan in Houston welcomes the opportunity to take 20 weeks’ paid parental leave

DNB employees across the world will now be given at least 20 weeks’ paid parental leave. The bank has introduced this as a global, gender-neutral scheme, and Simonds is among those who want to make use of this arrangement.

“We are expecting our first child, a little girl, at the end of June. I’m really looking forward to getting to know her, and I’m so grateful that DNB is making it possible for me to stay at home with her for a few months. It’s important to be able to spend time at home with small children,” he says.

Simonds wants to encourage others in the same situation to make the most of this opportunity – if they have it – and do the same.

Equal parental leave for all employees

DNB North America introduced the scheme as early as in July 2018, before it was introduced globally in DNB from
1 January 2019.

Senior adviser for equality and diversity in DNB, Line Bakke (photo), says that through this scheme, the bank wishes to give all employees becoming parents – women and men alike – the opportunity to stay at home with their child, regardless of whether they become parents by adoption or by birth.

When the scheme was introduced, most DNB employees already had equivalent or better schemes than the 20 weeks, particularly employees in Norway and Scandinavia.

“What is new is that all employees the world over have now been lifted to a minimum level,» says Bakke.

The global scheme has especially improved the rights of fathers in South and North America, Asia and Central Europe, but some employees in Norway will also benefit from the new scheme.

“In Norway, the father’s leave is dependent on the mother’s right to paid parental leave. This means that men who have a child with a woman without income, for example a student, are not able to take paid parental leave. Now, this has changed for employees in DNB. Those of our male employees who have had or will have a baby after 1 January 2019 – with a partner without the right to paid parental leave – will now get 20 weeks of paid leave,” she explains.

Small part of a long working life

Head of the division for large corporates and international customers in DNB, Harald Serck-Hanssen (photo), is very pleased that DNB has finally established a scheme for minimum paid parental leave that applies in all countries where DNB has employees.

“I encourage everyone to make use of this scheme. Twenty weeks is a very small part of a long working life, and this means a lot both to the parents and the children. Therefore, I hope that all managers in DNB will encourage their employees to take out the leave they are entitled to – and that they themselves lead by good example.