The Kilkenny-headquartered company today announced improvements across a range of leaves to support their people 

Kilkenny-based software technology group, CluneTech, has announced improvements across a range of leave types to support their people during the more difficult times they may face. 

The changes announced today cover three key areas: compassionate leave, miscarriage and pregnancy loss leave, and IVF and pregnancy support leave. The announcement marks another significant step in CluneTech’s commitment to caring for, and supporting their people, and the additional leaves are available to all of the company’s 1,200 employees globally. 

Compassionate leave, available from day one of employment, has been significantly increased, with the company now offering 4 weeks of paid leave for the loss of a spouse or child. Employees can also avail of 5 days and 3 days paid leave for the loss of an immediate or non-immediate family member respectively. 

For the first time in the company’s history, they also recognise the important role that pets play in their employees’ lives, particularly as many people avail of CluneTech’s flexible working offering and choose to work from home. With this in mind, a dedicated Pet Compassionate Leave has been introduced, where employees can avail of up to 2days of paid leave for the loss of a beloved pet. 

The new policy also includes extended paid leave of five days for those impacted by pregnancy loss when this occurs prior to 24 weeks, as after this, the company’s paid maternity leave applies. In addition, where an employee’s partner has experienced pregnancy loss, they are now covered in the policy and can avail of the full five days paid leave. 

Access to and support during fertility treatment is a key focus of CluneTech, who announced their support of The I Want a Baby Foundation in Bulgaria earlier this year. Employees based in Ireland can already avail themselves of best-in-class fertility care as part of the company’s health coverage with Laya Healthcare. Previously, employees could avail of up to 3 days of paid leave for IVF and pregnancy support. This has now been increased to 5 days of paid leave and extended to the partner of a person undergoing IVF / pregnancy support. 

The improvements announced today are part of an already extensive benefits package which includes Lifework Days ̶ an additional half day’s leave per quarter where employees can get their life jobs done without having to use their hard-earned annual leave, flexible working ̶ including remote and hybrid working, an award-winning Milestone Recognition Programme which rewards those who choose to grow their career with CluneTech, and much more. Last month, CluneTech were awarded Overall Excellence in HR at the 2023 HR Leadership &Management Awards for their innovative approach to flexibility. 

Speaking about the leave enhancements, Terry Clune, CEO, CluneTech said: “CluneTech cares about our people and their wellbeing and today’s announcement further strengthens our commitment to supporting them through the more difficult times they may face in life. Our people are at the heart of everything we do and as their employer, it’s our goal to ensure they feel supported and cared for, so that they can reach their full potential.” 

Rachael Quinlan, Head of Employee Experience, CluneTech said: “We are really honoured to share these remarkable improvements with our global team. While these leave types tend to be the ones that we hope our people will never have to avail of, we hope that they take some comfort in knowing that our aim is to minimise their worries during challenging times. As always, these changes have been introduced as a direct result of employee feedback and we will continue to use their voice to drive change and to ensure that we truly are a great place to work.”