Ernst & Young LLP – Progressive Employers of Canada List

We recognized long ago that work-life “balance” is an inaccurate description of the multiple priorities in the lives of working moms. Instead, we emphasize flexibility for everyone at Ernst & Young, and we work hard to create a work environment where people can focus on making a life, not just making a living.

To enhance our people’s understanding of our flexibility philosophy, we’ve created a website — Achieving flexibility — that contains guides, FAQs, brochures and toolkits. We want to make sure that everyone here has access to the tools they need to live up to our definition of flexibility. We’ve even built flexibility into the project-planning process of each new engagement we take on. We make sure that team members sit down and discuss everyone’s schedules and flexibility needs before starting an engagement. This way, our people can help each other achieve the flexibility they need and deserve.

We also offer many options for our people to incorporate flexibility into their workdays. Some of these options include a redistribution of work hours, entering into a formal flexible work arrangement, or taking advantage of our flexibility-enhancing technology platform: laptops and remote networking capabilities mean our people can work anywhere there is a telephone, wireless “hot spot” or broadband cable connection. Most of our people have no fixed times when they must be in the office.

Our flexible and inclusive culture is considered by many employees to be a major benefit that keeps people with us and helps them to “boomerang” back to EY even after they leave for another company.

Here are some ways we help working moms achieve their potential at work and at home:

Maternity leave top-up

Ernst & Young tops up maternity leave pay to 100% of pay for up to 17 weeks, depending on length of service. With less than one year of service, women can take eight weeks with 100% of pay; with one to two years, 12 weeks with 100% of pay; and with two or more years of service, the full 17 weeks with 100% of pay. We were the first of our competitors to offer this enhanced top-up.

Adoption assistance

We also have an adoption-assistance program to help defray the costs associated with the adoption process. We cover expenses of up to $10,000 per child, and the benefits apply for each adoption a family undertakes.

Parental leave

To further support our people as they adjust to new responsibilities at home, fathers and adoptive mothers are eligible to receive up to two weeks of paid parental leave under our parental leave program.

Here Comes Baby — our new-parent handbook

Our new-parent handbook, Here Comes Baby, is filled with information that will provide answers to some common questions regarding maternity and paternity leaves. The guide was created based on feedback from new parents at the firm, and provides an overview of the key information they’ll need to better prepare for their leave. We’ve also created a handbook for counsellors, with guidelines for our leaders on how to communicate with expectant and new parents in their group.

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs)

The vast majority of our people work flexibly on a day-to-day basis. In our Vancouver office, we have 25 people on formal FWAs, but all of our people are encouraged to work flexibly so they can get the most out of their work and personal lives.

Day-to-day flexibility might mean working from home to make it to a doctor’s appointment. It could mean starting work a little earlier to make time for volunteer work or to attend a school play. A very popular day-to-day flexibility practice for many of our people is to hit the gym at lunch or in the afternoon.

Formal FWAs come in when someone has a regular need for flexibility. The arrangement might involve working reduced hours, seasonal schedules or working more regularly from home.

Four-day weekends

Since 2004, Ernst & Young has offered our people three four-day weekends a year. These days off are in addition to statutory holidays, vacation and personal days, and the extra time off allows our people to really kick back and enjoy the summer months. In 2009, Friday, July 3 (Canada Day weekend), Friday, July 31 (August long weekend) and Friday, September 4 (Labour Day weekend) are four-day weekends at the firm.

Leave of absence

On top of maternity and parental leaves, our people can also request study leaves and personal leaves for whatever reason. This year, we’ve had 64 requests for study leaves and 47 requests for personal leaves in the Vancouver office.

Sabbaticals

Earlier this year, we started a sabbatical program for our client-serving staff. Sabbaticals of over six weeks, exclusive of vacation time, are eligible for this program.

The options under the program are:

• Sabbaticals up to four months will be subsidized at 15% of base salary; and
• Sabbaticals longer than four months will be subsidized at 20% of base salary, to a maximum of one year.
• In addition, in the Tax practice, because we have a more pronounced peak in capacity in the summer months, sabbaticals taken between 4 July and 30 September 2009 will be subsidized at 20% of base salary as long as they are six weeks or more in duration

In our Vancouver office alone, we’ve received over 40 requests for sabbaticals that range from six weeks to six months.

Extended vacation program

Our extended vacation program allows our people the chance to take unpaid time off for extended travel, community service, to spend time with family, or for other personal reasons. These days are separate from and in addition to the paid vacation, holidays and personal days already provided by the firm.

Our people can choose either five days or ten days of time off. We spread the financial impact of the unpaid days off over a five-month pay period.

Over 30 people in our Vancouver office are participating in this program.

Backup child and adult care

Ernst & Young offers a backup child and adult care program, with services provided by Work Options Group. These subsidized backup care services are meant to be used whenever our people experience an interruption in their normal care arrangements — from illness of a regular caregiver to school closures.

In addition to backup care, Ernst & Young employees have access to full-time centre-based child care at Kids + Company locations.

Backup care is available to a maximum of 100 hours per year. The cost for centre-based care is $2 per child per hour. In-home care is $4 an hour for up to three children. Anyone who counts on an Ernst & Young employee as their primary caregiver qualifies to receive care under the program.

Fitness reimbursement

The firm’s annual fitness benefit reimbursement is $1,000 and it applies not only to fitness-club fees, but to virtually any other fitness activity including yoga classes, tennis lessons, dance lessons or green fees for golf. Alternately, people can claim 75% of the cost of home-fitness equipment to a maximum of $1,000 per year, allowing more flexibility on when and where they can fit a workout into their busy schedules.

Support through EY Assist

When the challenges of life — at home or at work — become stressful, our people can turn to the firm’s EY Assist program. It’s a voluntary, confidential, short-term counselling and advisory service that connects our people and their family members to a network of experienced counsellors, psychologists, social workers and other specialists who are available 24 hours a day.
In addition to helping with stressful situations, EY Assist provides confidential assistance for a wide range of everyday issues, from information for new mothers and fathers to resources for financial and legal matters. There is no cost to our people or their families — Ernst & Young pays for all EY Assist services.