Investing in People: How LendInvest Supports Employees Through Parental Leave

Planning to go on parental leave (maternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave or long-term paternity leave), or returning to work following parental leave can be a daunting process for many. Family is extremely important to us here at LendInvest and we understand that balancing a career with family life can be a stressful and challenging experience. We aim to make this transition as smooth as possible and have various ways of supporting our parents-to-be or new parents. 

One element of parental support we offer is giving employees the option to take up parental coaching before and after their parental leave. This is done via our partnership with The Tall Wall (TTW https://www.thetallwall.com). Whether someone is a first-time parent or has been on parental leave before, they are eligible to participate in this programme. 

All of the TTW coaches have experience within the professional and/or financial services sector, so they can quickly understand the industry and pressures parents-to-be or new parents may be facing. The programme has been extremely helpful for those who have opted in, hear from a couple of our employees below who have recently completed their coaching: 

Kat Ross, QA Specialist in our Buy-to-Let team: 

I completed three sessions of coaching after coming back from maternity leave and they were not just helpful but also shifted my mindset to feel more proactive and organised. My coach was professional and personable, I felt comfortable to talk with her and work through my approach in my professional career. These sessions have left me with an awareness of how to shift my perspective and behaviours when required. A very useful skill and one which I gratefully appreciate having the opportunity to explore. Highly recommended. 

Sharmila Guruswamy, Data Engineer in our Data team: 

I am very glad that I had the opportunity to attend the parental coaching session. It’s been a totally positive experience where I could open-up and speak out my thoughts and my coach was very supportive, open and honest. When you are away from work to take care of your baby, everything around you changes and it’s overwhelming to handle both family and work. The sessions were informative and provided me with the reassurance that I wasn’t alone and shouldn’t be too hard on myself. I would highly recommend parental coaching for any new parent. 

For many parents returning to work after parental leave, they may find that they require more flexibility around their hours or days they come into the office. This is something we discuss with employees before they return to work and ensure that any necessary changes to their hours or work location are implemented ahead of them coming back to work. Folasayo Bakare, Product Team Lead, recently returned to work following maternity leave, below she talks about how flexible working helped her with the transition: 

I had the fear of coming back to work and feeling completely lost after being out for a year on maternity leave. A lot had changed whilst I was away both within my immediate team and company wide, which made me feel that I would find it difficult to fit back in. I raised my concerns and I was offered the opportunity to do flexible hours/days, which after considering I decided was the best option for me. With my flexible working pattern, returning to work has not been as daunting/overwhelming as I thought it would be and it’s allowed me to phase myself in quite easily. It has also meant that I can spend more time with my son on the days that I’m not working.

At LendInvest we are passionate about working with new parents or parents-to-be to ensure that we have the correct resources and support in place to give parents everything they need to care for their children without sacrificing their livelihood or career growth. We regularly review our leave policy to ensure that it evolves to match our employees needs and hope that it will continue to grow and develop as our business grows.