Additions to Kent’s ‘family friendly’ policies have been announced by the Athena SWAN team.

The policies, which have been approved by our Executive Group and Joint Staff Negotiating and Consultation Committee (JSNCC) now include:

• additional leave and pay for parents of premature babies
• special leave for fertility treatment now available from day one of employment
• colleagues leaving the University within three months of their maternity leave ending will not be asked to pay back any contractual maternity pay.

The new policies are based on ideas and feedback gathered at focus groups, forums and Athena SWAN events. The full ‘wish list’ was quite long so our Athena SWAN team took a pragmatic approach and focused on enhancements that would deliver the most impact for those affected within a manageable cost to the University.

Further details are available in the Family Friendly Policies proposal reviewed by JSNCC. 

About Athena SWAN

The University has joined and is committed to the principles of the Athena SWAN charter, which recognises and celebrates good practices in higher education and research institutions towards the advancement of gender equality.

The charter, which was launched in June 2005, was first implemented to advance representation of women in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics (STEMM). The charter was expanded in 2015 to also include arts, humanities, social science, business and law (AHSSBL) disciplines as well as professional and support roles, and for trans staff and students.

All our academic schools at Kent have engaged with the Athena SWAN Charter and between them hold nine Athena SWAN Bronze awards and one Silver award. The University also holds a Bronze award at institutional level.

To find out more, see our Athena SWAN webpages.