Business Insider/Hayley Peterson
Whole Foods employees say the company should offer paid maternity leave benefits.
- Amazon-owned Whole Foods offers no paid parental leave to employees.
- In interviews with Business Insider, nine current and former corporate Whole Foods employees described the lack of paid leave for new mothers as alarming.
- "I can't tell you how many crying mothers I spoke to who were completely shocked by the benefits," said one former human resources employee.
- Whole Foods said employees can use accrued paid time off for parental leave purposes. "At Whole Foods Market, we offer an egalitarian benefits structure that provides all of our 95,000+ Team Members with the same caliber of benefits," a Whole Foods spokesperson said. "
- Amazon, which offers its own employees up to 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, did not respond to a request for comment.
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Whole Foods offers no paid maternity or paternity leave to its employees, and some corporate staffers say it seems to have driven women away from the company.
In interviews with Business Insider, nine current and former corporate Whole Foods employees described the lack of paid leave for new mothers in particular as alarming.
"I was a mother and having to convince other moms or future moms that no maternity leave was okay... it weighed on me," said one former employee, who said she left Whole Foods in part due to the lack of paid parental leave. This person and others spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, though Business Insider confirmed their identities.
Many people assume Whole Foods has generous parental leave policies because of the company's strong emphasis on health and wellness, employees said.
In fact, some corporate staffers didn't realize the company offered no paid parental leave until they got pregnant, according to one former human resources employee.
"I can't tell you how many crying mothers I spoke to who were completely shocked by the benefits," this person said. "The maternity policy was not what they were expecting and they were very upset about how Whole Foods would support them."
In response to this story, Whole Foods said it offers a "centralized paid time off system." Employees, which the company calls team members, can use their PTO hours for illness, holidays, vacations, or parental leave, the company said.
Employees generally earn between 24 to 43 hours of PTO for the first 1,000 hours worked. 1,000 hours equates to about 125 8-hour shifts. PTO accrual rates ramp up with tenure.
"At Whole Foods Market, we offer an egalitarian benefits structure that provides all of our 95,000+ Team Members with the same caliber of benefits," a Whole Foods spokesperson said. "Our centralized paid time off system allows Team Members to choose how to spend those hours across sick, holiday, vacation or maternity/paternity leave.
"Our comprehensive benefits program includes an industry-leading starting minimum hourly wage of at least $15, a rich Team Member discount, paid time off for both full-time and part-time Team Members, and a company-funded health immersion program."
'We've lost so many people because of maternity leave'
One former Whole Foods employee involved in recruiting said the lack of paid maternity leave was a common reason why corporate candidates rejected offers, and that it weakened the company's competitiveness. Six current and former employees said it seemed to feed into a pattern of young women leaving Whole Foods' corporate office, especially after becoming pregnant.
"We've lost so many people because of maternity leave," said a former corporate manager who left the company last year.
This person said that there's an assumption within the corporate office in Austin, Texas that pregnant employees will leave Whole Foods before or soon after giving birth.
Another former employee who left Whole Foods this year said, "The turnover rate of childbearing women is astronomically higher than any other demographic at the company."
"Family leave is not just good for business, but it's also the right thing to do," this person said.
In response, a Whole Foods spokesperson said the company as a whole has one of the lowest turnover rates in the grocery industry and that an internal survey last year showed an increase in overall positive sentiment among employees. The spokesperson also said that parental leave is not a standard benefit in the industry.
However, Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, offers birth mothers up to 20 weeks - or about five months - of fully paid leave. Fathers, adoptive parents, and non-birth mothers get six weeks of fully paid leave.
Amazon also offers paid leave to parents' partners who do not work for Amazon through a "leave share" program. For parents returning to work from paid leave, the company offers a "ramp back" benefit that allows for a flexible schedule and reduced hours for their first eight weeks back at work.
Employees hope Amazon will improve Whole Foods' benefits
Business Insider/Hayley Peterson
Several Whole Foods employees highlighted the fact that the company's promotion of health and wellness stands at odds with its refusal to offer paid maternity leave.
"It's not what you would expect from Whole Foods," said one former human resources employee.
"College-educated women is their demographic" this person said. "They will not be happy knowing that the company does not provide any support for pregnant or new moms."
Whole Foods touts six core values on its website that it says serve as the backbone of the company's culture.
One of those values is to promote the growth and happiness of its team members, which is what Whole Foods calls its employees.
"We design and provide safe and empowering environments where highly motivated people can flourish and reach their highest potential," the company says. "We earn trust through transparent communication, open door policies, and inclusive people practices... We value the importance of fun, family, and community involvement to encourage a rich, meaningful, and balanced life."
A current employee said she felt the company should be more forthright about its benefits offering.
"You can't find anywhere on the website under benefits that we don't offer paid maternity leave," she said, referring to the company's public careers site. "I feel like we are lying."
Several workers expressed hope that Amazon, which purchased Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion, would ultimately change Whole Foods' benefits structure to mirror its own.
"How can you be competitive as a company?" asked one former employee. "How can you show compassion and that you care about your people when you're not offering those types of benefits?"