French pharmaceutical group Sanofi will offer 14 weeks of paid leave to all its employees around the world who become mothers or fathers from January 1, 2022, without distinction, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Employees on permanent contracts
"who welcome a new child will benefit from paid leave of the same duration regardless of their sex or sexual orientation"
, explained the company, setting the remuneration at 100% of the base salary for this period. .
To guarantee “equality at work”, Sanofi specified that this leave would apply in the context of
“adoption, surrogacy or guardianship”
, depending on the legal context of the countries where the group is established.
In France, paternity or “second parent” leave was increased to 28 days on July 1, 2021, a long-awaited social reform.
18 weeks in France
Maternity leave, for its part, amounts to 16 weeks, far behind other European countries such as Iceland or Finland.
The 14 weeks of leave offered by Sanofi will unify the situation of their employees around the world, but they will not replace local laws if they are more generous for parents.
In France, for example, employees certifying more than one year of seniority with Sanofi will still benefit from the 18 weeks currently offered, as will employees who adopt a child.
The French pharmaceutical giant, specializing in the production of vaccines and drugs, has more than 100,000 employees in around 100 countries, including 25,000 in France.
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Away from the Covid-19 vaccine but boosted by the sale of shares in Regeneron, an American biotech behind an anti-Covid treatment, the group has again revised its 2021 outlook upwards.
Sanofi posted clear growth in the third quarter with a net profit of 2.3 billion euros from June to September, an increase of almost 19% year on year.
