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From Guinness to Johnnie Walker, and Pimm’s to Tanqueray 0.0, the iconic spirits and beers produced by Diageo have toasted life’s most joyful moments for countless people across the globe—including the news of parenthood.
The beverage maker is also keenly aware that starting a family is a challenging and unique journey for all. As a result, it is committed to supporting its employees at all stages of their lives, through an extensive family leave policy introduced in 2019, augmented with further support covering fertility, pregnancy loss, carers leave, and menopause.
In the UK and four other markets, Diageo has also equalised family leave, offering 26 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave.
Cabs Rhodes, Global HR Director at Diageo, speaks to HR Grapevine about becoming one of the first global employers to take this monumental step, how it has been delivered without compromising business continuity, and why it will continue to be a ‘powerful driver’ of engagement & retention.
Can you outline Diageo’s Global Family Leave Policies, including the paternity leave offering? And any notable changes made since 2019?
Our family leave policy guarantees all new mothers a minimum of 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, and all new fathers a minimum of four weeks of fully paid paternity leave - regardless of where they’re based.
In 2020, we built on this foundation with the aim of challenging cultural norms around family leave and driving greater equality at home and at work. In several key markets, including the UK, North America, Thailand, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, and Australia, we extended the policy further to offer 26 weeks of fully paid family leave to all new parents, regardless of gender or whether they are becoming parents biologically, through adoption, or surrogacy.
Launching policies is one thing, but embedding them across a global company the size of Diageo requires real time and effort. We’re also focused on making sure that these policies continue to meet the needs of our employees and that we listen regularly and act where we can, especially given the scale of adoption with 1,543 parents using it in fiscal year 2024.
For example, based on employee feedback, we are now looking at how we can better support colleagues when they return from family leave to ensure a smooth return.
Why have you offered working fathers in UK equalised parental leave of 26 weeks?
We passionately believe that our employees should be able to take family leave regardless of their gender. Our goal is to support all parents equally.
We also recognise that cultural and structural barriers still prevent many fathers from taking extended leave. So, we’re committed to leading by example and making equal family leave not just available, but normal and encouraged, helping our people to feel empowered to prioritise family life without compromising their careers.
How did you go about planning, creating, and implementing this policy? How is it managed in practice?
The policy was developed with a thorough planning process that placed employee needs at its core, while ensuring business continuity. We used data and workforce analytics to understand the potential impact across markets, roles, and teams, and we collaborated closely with leaders across functions and geographies to develop flexible, inclusive solutions.
We’re committed to leading by example and making equal family leave not just available, but normal and encouraged, helping our people to feel empowered to prioritise family life without compromising their career
A key part of successful implementation was transparency. We encouraged open conversations between employees and their line managers to ensure that family leave could be taken with confidence. We also invested in both short- and long-term resourcing strategies to maintain momentum and talent development across teams.
We’re proud that we were one of the first global businesses to introduce a policy like this, and we continue to regularly review the policy to meet the needs of our people today and into the future.
