Facebook gives parental leave to same-sex couples

Full-time employees of Facebook around the globe will be entitled to four months of paid parental leave when the new policy commences in 2016.

The social media network, which offers just four weeks leave to its employees stationed outside of the United States, will now allow workers to take paid leave of up to a year after the birth or adoption of their child, reports Reuters.

Facebook Head of Human Resources Lori Matloff Goler said the change, which emerged following a review of parental leave policies, was the “right thing to do for our people and their families”.

“We want to be there for our people at all stages of life, and, in particular, we strive to be a leading place to work for families,” she posted to her Facebook page.

Goler said the policy also extends to benefit to gay dads and same-sex couples, and puts the company’s paternity leave outside the United States on par with maternity leave at Facebook workplaces around the world.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said last week that he would be taking two months paternity leave following the upcoming birth of his daughter.

He announced in July that he was expecting his first child with wife Priscilla Chan.

“Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families,” wrote Zuckerberg on his Facebook page.

The good news comes as Music streaming service Spotify last week announced that all of its full-time employees would be entitled to up to six months leave, at full pay, during the first three years after having children.