LONDON, 7 June 2023 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has today announced the launch of a new carers’ leave policy providing paid leave to support its UK employees who have caring responsibilities for relatives, partners or friends.
Aon employees will have access to five days of paid leave each calendar year, which can be taken as full or half days, to enable flexibility and to support employees with their caring responsibilities, while balancing their work as well as their own personal wellbeing. Eligibility extends to all employees of Aon in the UK who are providing unpaid care for relatives, partners or friends who may be elderly, have a disability or illness and without the support of the Aon employee would be unable to manage and care for themselves.
The carers’ leave policy draws on feedback from Aon’s UK Parents and Carers Business Resource Group (Resource Group) which aims to raise awareness, support parents and carers, and share helpful information and resources. The Resource Group highlighted that, although employees who had caring responsibilities could take paid leave at the discretion of their line manager, many were using their annual leave.
In addition to the new leave policy, Aon continues to cover six sessions of back-up care in each calendar year via My Family Care, which provides employees with care when their regular arrangements are unavailable. They can use the sessions for any family members, including elderly relatives and dependent adults.
Aon, which provides clients from SMEs to large corporates with Commercial Risk Solutions, Health Solutions, Reinsurance Solutions and Wealth Solutions, is also celebrating Carers Week, an annual campaign running from 5-11 June that raises awareness of caring responsibilities and highlights the challenges faced by the UK’s 5.7 million* unpaid carers. The campaign, led by Carers UK and supported by Age UK, Carers Trust, The Lewy Body Society, MND Association, Rethink Mental Health, and Oxfam, also recognises the contribution carers make to families and communities throughout the UK. During the week, employees will be provided with a Carers Week resource pack provided by the Parents and Carers Business Resource Group, as well having the opportunity to attend three webinars on topics including caring for someone with dementia, hosted by Bright Horizons; guidance on how carers can build their personal support networks hosted by My Family Care and an open forum discussion hosted by Aon’s Parents and Carers Group.
Chris Dunford, chief people officer, Aon UK said:
“Juggling work and caring for a relative, partner or friend can be extremely challenging. Our employees are our priority and, although we already offer paid leave for carers at their manager’s discretion, we wanted to instil a more formalised framework to help support employees with caring responsibilities and alleviate any concerns around taking time off work. Aon’s carers’ leave policy makes it clear that any employee who has caring responsibilities is eligible to receive up to five full days paid leave in addition to their annual leave.
“We are grateful to the members of our Parents and Carers Business Resource Group for helping to identify where improvements could be made, and we are pleased to implement these changes to align with their feedback. For our employees, it means that if they are supporting someone with a long-term or a short-term illness or disability, they can take time off to help support them and for respite to focus on their own wellbeing.”
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said:
“We know that being able to use paid Carer’s Leave makes a huge difference to working carers supporting older, disabled or seriously ill relatives - allowing them to better manage their dual responsibilities, relieving some of the stress and supporting them to stay in work. It can improve health and wellbeing and helps with retention and recruitment, making good business sense as well as helping employees.
“With up to five days of unpaid Carer’s Leave very recently legislated through the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, Aon is already a step ahead in offering its staff paid leave.”
In October 2022, the UK government backed new laws entitling unpaid carers to one week of unpaid leave a year. The Carer’s Leave Bill received royal assent on 24 May 2023, becoming the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 but a date for implementation is yet to be announced. The decision of Aon to provide this without loss of pay, is a welcome move according to Chris Dunford.
To learn more about Aon UK, visit www.aon.com/unitedkingdom.
*Source - Carers UK
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries and sovereignties with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.
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