Netflix Announces Unlimited Paid Maternity And Paternity Leave For The First Year

Netflix, the video streaming company, announced Tuesday that in the first year, after giving birth or adopting a baby, the new mother or father can take unlimited leave, according to buzzfeed.

Hence, it said that the company will keep paying employees during their time off, and they can return "part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed."

"We want employees to have the flexibility and confidence to balance the needs of their growing families without worrying about work or finances," the statement added.

Netflix added that the new rule would help employees to prempt the "headache" of filing an application for disability pay that employees from many companies are supposed to fulfill as part of the "parental leave process".

Observers find it interesting, and call it clever on the part of Netflix. "It's smart. Companies aren't going to get the best out of folks when they're super stressed out and have their minds at home," says techcrunch.

One White House survey in 2014 showed that only 39% of employees agreed that they could take some kind of paid family leave after a child was born. The US report noted that more unlimited and paid access to maternity leave was the need of the time. "Even when unpaid leave is available, workers may be unable or unwilling to forego lost wages," the report noted.

Last year, President Obama explained that paid parental leave was a "national economic priority."

Such policies help companies to compete for top talent, and retain female employees. After Google raised its maternity leave from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, it found that new mothers were leaving the company at half the rate than earlier, according to cnn.

Netflix does not keep track of its employees' vacation time, even though company executives do not call it an "unlimited" policy.