The American coffee chain’s new parental leave policy will be offered to employees in March 2025. Starbucks CEO Brian Nichol has shared that the company is doubling its parental leave policy after an email from his employee caught his attention. The American coffee company shared a message from Nichol on Monday (December 16) to announce the change in the parental leave plan, which takes place in March 2025.
“We are more than doubling paid parental leave for our U.S. store partners who work an average of 20 hours a week or more,” he said in a statement. “Birth parents will receive up to 18 weeks of fully paid leave, and non-birth parents will receive up to 12 weeks of leave at full pay.”.
He explained that the work benefit came “after hearing from some partners who shared the leave as new parents weren’t adequate.”. The new initiative comes as a part of the company’s “Back to Starbucks” plan, which aims to establish Starbucks as “the unrivaled best job in retail.”.
Speaking to Fox Business, Nichol described how the email from one of his employees, who are referred to as “partners” in the company, encouraged his decision to change the benefits for workers. He noted that the worker asked to take parental leave for a longer time, which “caught [his] attention.”.
