Alcohol company Diageo offers new $6.5k perk to Aussie staff
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Australian employees at alcoholic drink maker Diageo will score a new perk worth $6500 after it introduced a new policy in September.
The company will pay superannuation while its staff take paid parental leave, with the new benefit adding an extra $64,889 to a retirement pot over their working life if they have two children.
One of the leading companies in the paid parental space, it offers 26 weeks leave which it already pays superannuation on, while the new policy will add an extra $6500 on average to the superannuation funds of staff.
For an employee that has one child under the new policy, this will give them an extra $34,705 at retirement, according to Diageo’s analysis.
It comes as women are hit hard by a superannuation gender gap, which has resulted in females over 55 becoming the leading age group for homelessness.
A KPMG report from last year found that in the years approaching retirement age, the gender superannuation gap can be anywhere between 22 per cent and 35 per cent.
It showed the medium superannuation balance for men aged 60-64 is $204,107 while for women the same age it is $146,900 – a gap of 28 per cent.
Over a million Aussie mums have missed out on more than $1.6 billion in superannuation in the last decade from the government’s paid parental scheme alone.
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Alana Lucci is one Diageo employee set to be one of the first to benefit from the new policy as she is almost seven months pregnant.
The brand manager had her son, now aged three, and took a year off under the company’s previous parental leave policy which was 12 weeks paid at the full salary, however superannuation wasn’t included for the 12 months.
“My husband has his own business which is quite slow, so we were basically living off my parental leave the first time – it was a little bit stressful having to make compromises while off,” she told news.com.au.
“This time around I feel a lot better going into it and that financially for the next year we will be in a better position but also for our future as well.
“It reassures you and takes the edge off a little bit that we won’t have any additional monetary stress. There is no hesitation to take a full 12 month this time.”
The Sydney mum had bumped up her superannuation contributions by up to 13 per cent in the past few years to play catch up but said the policy was also important for another reason.
“My son actually is autistic so I am constantly thinking about our future as we don’t know what his future is going to be like,” she added.
The 30-year-old said she was proud to work for a company that was putting gender equality at the forefront of its policies and wants to see more Australian companies step up.
“I speak to people around me and the companies they work at don’t even offer any paid parental leave and I can just see the amount of stress when it comes to talking about them having kids,” she said.
“I don’t feel like that your work should determine if you have kids. They should be supporting family life and trying to make that easy as possible.”
Ashleigh Sladden, head of digital marketing at Diageo, is another employee who thinks the policy is “amazing”.
She is currently six months pregnant with her first child and said she wouldn’t be able to take her planned 10 months off without the scheme.
“It really makes me feel confident about taking time off with my career. I’ve been a super career focused woman and breadwinner in my family and this future proofs me and my family and overall financial situation as it comes into my later years,” she said.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m missing out by wanting to have two children. This is my first child and makes me feel confident about my career and stability and how I can contribute to my family.”
The 33-year-old said it was a huge relief to know that her superannuation would be paid and she wouldn't be facing any “setbacks” in terms of her retirement pot.
She said the new policy had her friends asking her about jobs going at Diageo.
“From personal experience I have so many girlfriends in a similar stage of life and who are only able to take really short periods off and it’s a financial decision. Having to make that decision between wanting to be a successful working woman and that desire to be a mum and taking care of children and family – what a battle that is to have to think about how I have to choose one over the other,” she said.
“I feel bad for girlfriends having to take three to four months off and then jump straight back into work. As family unit, we couldn’t thrive without family leave and having that superannuation as that protection later on in life.”
With a baby boom at the Diageo offices, Gem Roberson who has been at the company for 11 years and is currently the shopper marketing manager, is also pregnant with her second child.
The 37-year-old said she was worried about finances when she had her first child, now aged five, but the new policy has given her “peace of mind”. She also wants to see more companies doing better in the space.
“I think the government is going in the right direction but I think more companies need to take it on board and look to make it a better future for female and male employers,” she said.
“I have sister on maternity leave and she works for a government organisation and she’s in awe my company does this as a lot of companies don’t even offer anything outside of the government leave you can get.”
Diageo Australia managing director Angus McPherson said its employees are already entitled to 26 weeks paid family leave regardless of an employee’s tenure or if they’re the primary or secondary carer.
But the drinks company wanted to address the gender super gap and introduced providing a full 12 months of superannuation payments to individuals on family leave in September, he added.
“The superannuation gender pay gap continues to be a huge issue with women still retiring with less superannuation than men. Policies like ours play a small but critical role in closing that gap,” he said.
“We are very excited to be taking an industry leading position by offering our Diageo Australia employees a full 12 months of superannuation payments while they are on family leave.
“We know the superannuation gap between men and women remains significant, and that women often retire with considerably less savings than men do.”
“Another important step we’re taking is to support all employees, regardless of gender, to take extended periods of family leave.
“At Diageo we have a very strong track record of fathers taking up to a year off to spend time with their families. In fact, every new parent in our business in the last few years has taken family leave.”
Diageo joins a number of Australian companies that are offering more generous paid parental leave policies in recent times.
Among the big accounting firms, KPMG and PwC gives 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all parents regardless of gender plus continuing superannuation payments for up to 12 month.
Law firms Clayton Utz and Allens also offer the same benefits to their staff.
Meanwhile companies like Spotify and law firms King & Wood Mallesons and Ashurst also provide 26 weeks of paid parental leave.
Originally published as Alcohol company Diageo offers new $6.5k perk to Aussie staff
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