We like to put people at the centre of what we do, both in our approach to design and when it comes to supporting the careers of our team at the studio. We know that good parental leave strategies promote equity and fairness. So, when it came to updating our parental leave policy, we considered how best to assist our team to navigate parenthood and their careers at NH.

We value contributions from a diverse team of people at NH and understand that supporting our team to care for their families through parental leave and flexible working arrangements helps maintain this diversity. Our refreshed parental leave policy reflects this commitment to our team.

Sarah Gowers, our Practice Manager, who led the redesign of the policy, said: “We wanted to be ambitious when we were rethinking our parental leave policy, to bring it in line with our culture here, which is one that really puts our people first.”

“In the most immediate effect, a parental leave policy like ours allows primary and secondary care givers to be supported in what is just the most monumental shift in a person’s life. With this updated scheme, we are basically saying, ‘you’re important to us, not just in your professional life but also outside it, we value you as a whole person and want to support you.”

Highlights of the refreshed scheme include expanded leave for both primary and secondary care givers, with 16 weeks of leave at full pay or 32 weeks at half pay for primary carers who’ve been employed with us for 12 months. In addition, we’re providing up to 12 months of super contributions for eligible primary carers.

Secondary carers will receive four weeks of paid leave when they’ve been employed for over two years, and two weeks if they’re new to our team. All these entitlements are in addition to government paid parental leave for those eligible.

We asked Chloe, Interior Designer at NH, who is currently on leave caring for her newborn baby girl, to reflect on her experience:

“NH have been incredibly supportive both in the lead up to and during my maternity leave. Being a first-time mum, it’s been such a relief to know I have a team who support me entirely on this journey. They’ve encouraged me to stay in touch as much as I’d like and kept me updated on various events and gatherings, some of which I’ve happily attended to stay connected and across the office news. I’m enjoying the time to focus on my family, but equally looking forward to getting back to work when the time is right, knowing NH will continue to support me upon my return.”

—Chloe Mikronis, Interior Designer at NH