Parental leave after the birth of a child has been shown to cultivate significant benefits for the early development and health of a newborn. Supporting healthy families, and fostering equilibrium between home and work life, is integral to the success of Dojo4, as a business and a culture. As such, Dojo4 provides various benefits for parental leave associated with the birth or adoption of a child by a Dojo4 member. These benefits extend to co-parents of any gender, sexual orientation or marital status.

The time-off offered is outlined below, but in each case there may be differences depending on the nature of your particular job and circumstances. Inevitably various questions will arise according to your situation:

• Will my specific job still be there when I return?
• How will Dojo4 fill my shoes while I’m gone?
• What if I want to go to permanent part-time after my baby is born?
• If i go to unpaid time, is my job still guaranteed? For how long?

Since Dojo4 is a small cooperative, with each member filling a unique role, the answers to these questions will vary according to each circumstance. Please talk to us (the members) about what you need and want in terms of having a new addition to your family. Dojo4 will do its best in each situation to help support a healthy and sustainable family / work balance.

Parental Leave Guidelines

To qualify for Parental Leave you must be an active Dojo4 member, considered to be working at Dojo4 full-time. You must be taking the time off to support or to be fully involved in the child’s care.

To qualify for Parental Leave, you must be have been a Dojo4 member for at least 26 weeks by either the 15th week before the week that the baby is due or the end of the week you are notified you are matched with the child you are adopting

You must also be either the:

- biological parent of the child

- parent’s partner

- child’s adopter

- partner of the child’s adopter

Dojo4 will cover the first two weeks of your leave at 100% of your salary after the baby is born or adopted. After that, as a Dojo4 member you are covered by our short-term disability insurance policy which will cover 60% of your weekly salary up to $1,000 for up to 8 weeks. Dojo4 will cover the remaining 40% for the next 4 consecutive weeks, and 20% for the next 2 consecutive weeks. Unpaid leave is also an option and can be discussed with the other members of Dojo4.

If you were already pregnant at the time you became a Dojo4 member, you may not qualify for Dojo4 paid parental leave benefits, however as a Dojo4 member, short-term disability insurance may be available will cover 60% of your weekly salary up to $1,000 for up 2 weeks.