Paw-ternity, moving house and first day at school leave: Finder ramps up paid leave perks

Finder announces 5 days' paid "life leave" for special occasions and wellbeing, and 20 weeks' parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers.

Global fintech, Finder, has announced it will be offering an additional 5 days of paid leave for its permanent employees, effective 1 December 2021.

"Life leave" aims to help the 500-strong Finder crew to live their best lives.

The leave can be used for special occasions such as a child's first day at school, looking after a new pet, birthdays or cultural celebrations. It can also be used for moving house or community impact, such as volunteering, or even heartbreak leave.

This comes as new Finder research shows 42% of Australian workers are planning on changing jobs within the next 6 months.

The survey of 647 Australian workers found 11% are looking for more flexibility. Furthermore, Finder analysis of OECD data found Australia has one of the lowest job tenure rates of OECD countries, with just 26% of employees having remained with their employer for more than 10 years.

In comparison, half of employees in Greece (56%), Italy (54%) and Portugal (50%) have an employment tenure of more than 10 years.

Finder crew will get 5 days per financial year and annual and sick leave balances will not impact whether or when life leave can be used.

This announcement follows a ramped-up wellbeing program at the company this year, including a paid wellbeing day for all crew in addition to mental health first aid training for interested crew.

According to recently appointed Chief People Officer, Shanyn Payne, a "whole person" approach is essential to modern workplaces.

"At Finder we hire the whole person and not just someone for the job.

"Work-life balance is a myth, this is about work-life integration and we want to support our crew both inside and outside of work.

"We encourage our crew to bring their authentic selves to work knowing that Finder will support them during life's ups and downs.

"You get the most out of people when they feel supported and looked after."

In another nod to the whole person philosophy, Finder has announced a new global parental leave policy for its 8 markets (Australia, US, UK, Poland, Philippines, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand).

As well as offering paid parental leave that's at parity for the primary and secondary caregivers, the fintech has committed to paid weeks that are within the top quartile in each market.

In Australia, this means 20 weeks of parental leave is being offered.

There is no qualifying period for parental leave at Finder.

In addition, the company will continue to pay superannuation (and international equivalents) for the duration of the leave period.

"By continuing to pay retirement benefits throughout paid and unpaid parental leave, we assist to close the gender pay gap that we know exists," said Payne.

Miscarriage, stillbirth, adoption, IVF and foster care leave is also being offered.

Payne said a life event as unique and important as becoming a parent needs to be dealt with as such.

"By offering more flexibility and financial stability in what are the most important and uncertain times in our crew members' lives, we are supporting the whole person and not just the employee."

Finder now has 9 offices around the world, and is currently hiring for more than 50 roles across product, engineering, publishing and editorial, and more.