Putting families first: Encirc’s evolving commitment to workplace care

At Encirc, we believe that a values-led workplace must care for the whole person, not just the employee. That belief underpins our ongoing commitment to becoming a truly family-first employer, where support for personal wellbeing sits alongside professional growth.

To help our people thrive both at work and at home, we’ve made significant enhancements to our family-friendly policies:

• Enhanced Parental Leave: Qualifying periods for enhanced maternity and paternity pay have been reduced from two years to one. Maternity and adoption leave now include 39 weeks on full pay, and paternity leave has increased to four weeks on full pay.
• Neonatal Care Leave: Parents whose babies require neonatal care can now access 12 weeks of fully paid leave.
• Wellbeing Support: With 65 trained Wellbeing Champions across our sites, colleagues experiencing anxiety, financial hardship, menopause, or men’s health concerns can access peer-led support.
• Neurodiversity & Inclusion: Our Neurodiversity Committee fosters understanding and creates safe spaces for neurodivergent employees and their families.
• Financial Wellbeing: We offer 100% sick pay, a family-inclusive health cash plan, optional private medical and dental insurance, and a Care Concierge service for working carers. Through Perkbox alone, our people have saved over £176,000 in just three months on family essentials and activities.

We’re especially proud of the recent enhancements to our maternity policy, offering a level of support for new mothers that sets the gold standard within our industry.

Last year, as part of our Values In Action campaign, bringing our company values to life, we ran a competition. The winning initiative was our Baby Box scheme, suggested by Katrina McCarroll, Customer Experience Supervisor. Each box offers lovingly hand-selected items for new parents and babies, and a connection to wellbeing resources. It’s a meaningful welcome gift for new parents that reflects the care we aim to embed at every level.

Katrina said, “I was inspired by the simple yet powerful idea behind Finland and Scotland’s baby box schemes, I wanted to bring that same sense of care and support to new parents in our workplace.”

Prepared in partnership with The Children’s Foundation in Newcastle, the boxes are part of a wider collaboration that supports not only our people, but children and families across the North East also.

As Sean Soulsby, Chief Executive of The Children’s Foundation, shared: “As the first corporate partner to introduce bespoke Baby Boxes for their employees, Encirc is setting a powerful example of how businesses can support new parents in a meaningful, practical way.

“These bespoke mini-Baby Boxes are more than just a gift; they’re filled with carefully chosen items designed to support a baby’s early development and help new parents feel more confident during those critical first weeks and months. It’s refreshing to see a business not only recognise the importance of the early years but actively invest in giving their teams and their families the best possible start.”

From policies to partnerships, Encirc remains committed to creating a workplace where every team member is supported, seen, and empowered to bring their whole self to work…and home.