Dive Brief:

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the latest name brand employer offering a generous family leave policy.
• The Foundation, which has 1,382 employees, will allow all workers to take up to 52 weeks of paid leave during the first year after a child is born or adopted, the company’s CHRO, Steven Rice, said in a statement. 
• The foundation will also offer unlimited time off to workers for sick days and vacation. 

Dive Insight:

Rice said the foundation's new parental leave program will enable parents to participate more fully in their children’s lives, while also allowing them the flexibility and financial certainty to meet the needs of their growing families. Ultimately, he added, parental leave program is focused on healthier babies, parents who are able to thrive professionally, and strong and resilient families.

"We have also announced that employees will be able to take unlimited time-off without concern about their accrued sick leave or vacation, returning to work more focused and able to take on the foundation’s boldest aspirations," Rice said.

But just this past week, Kickstarter changed its unlimited leave policy to 25 days because employees were unsure how many days to take off each year. In fact, it's not unusual for that to happen with the generous new vacation/leave policies.