I chatted to 6PR this morning about BrewDog Brewery’s new “Pawternity leave”. Yes, it’s really a thing.
Pawternity leave is increasingly being offered to employees upon the adoption of a new dog or puppy.
Before you wonder if the world has gone a little bit mad, hear me out on why this is a good thing..
- Employee turnover costs employers big time. It is MUCH cheaper to get an existing employee to stay than to recruit a new employee. And that’s without the associated losses such as loss of corporate knowledge.
- We know that employees are looking for more than just a wage and the basic minimum conditions. Employees REALLY value flexibility – in all it’s forms.
- This condition came as a direct result of an employee suggestion. The reality is that it has limited cost associated with it, and maximum goodwill value to the employees.
- BrewDog Brewery, already offers generous conditions including 31 days annual leave per year (increasing with length of service). They know that to be an employer where people want to stay, and make hospitality a career rather than a job, they need to do more than just offer the minimum. They’re creating a workplace culture where people want to come (and more importantly), stay.
The counter arguments (other than the world has gone mad) are:
- The cost to small business is prohibitive * See above re cost of employee turnover.
- It’s NOT FAIR… One employee will get a benefit that another employee doesn’t.. * This is already the case – employees have had access to parental leave for decades, excluding a significant portion of the population.
It’s not about the offering of pawternity leave per se. It’s about an organisation that is listening to it employees and offering them what they want. And that has to be a good thing – for all.
Image of the ridiculously cute Kouta – our 10 month old Pom x Maltese puppy..
