Wise launches 18 weeks minimum full pay paternity leave across 17 global offices

Changes come as part of global leave shake up with enhanced time off for 'me days' alongside the company's long running sabbatical policy

London, 18th January, 2022 00:01 GMT: Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move money around the world, today announces a new leave policy, rolled out worldwide. Wise has decided to apply its minimum holiday, parental leave, and general leave policy to all 3,000 Wisers helping to deliver the mission of money without borders. The move is designed to create a better, more fair, global standard, where Wisers can have flexibility and space to do their best work, regardless of where they are.

As of January 2022 all Wisers have access to the below as a minimum paid time off (PTO).

Parental leave:

• 18 fully paid weeks of parental leave for birth or adoption, if the person has been at Wise for 1+ year at the due date or adoption date. This applies regardless of the parent’s gender.

• 10 days leave on full pay for any Wisers affected by pregnancy loss 

• This is applicable whether it happens to a Wiser, their partner or their baby’s surrogate mother.

• 33 days annual leave (holiday, PTO) per year, including local public holidays.

• 3 me days per year to help people manage their life - Wisers can use this for ‘life admin’, general relaxing, or errands like vet visits.  

• 6 weeks paid sabbatical - available every four years of service at Wise.

• 15 days sick leave at full pay, per year.

• 5 compassionate leave days per year - available for emergencies or bereavement, with flexibility to increase where needed.

The minimum standard will be applied in every location, even if this is more than local market practice. In markets where the existing offer exceeds Wise’s new policy, this will continue to be the case. The new minimums will only be applied where they offer an improvement on what’s already in place.

Example changes:

• Maternity and paternity leave in the USA will increase from 16 weeks at full pay, to 18 weeks at full pay

• Maternity leave in Malaysia will increase from 9 weeks to 18 weeks at full pay

• Australia and the UK will receive an extra 5 days of fully paid sick leave

• NEW: There was previously no paternity in the following geos: Japan, Malaysia, India and Thailand

Kristo Käärmann, co-founder and CEO of Wise, stated: At Wise, we’re an international team and operate without borders. By applying a global leave minimum to everyone on our team, we’re setting the standard of balancing work and personal time. We’re no strangers to challenging the status quo, and making things work better regardless of where people live.

Hayley Bucur, Senior People Leader at Wise, added: Time and again we see people wanting real workplace benefits that truly enhance their work life balance. It’s not about office gimmicks any more, but creating a genuinely better place to work. We hope that standardising our global minimums will create a better, and fairer, balance for our Wisers regardless of where they are. 

-       ENDS -