Meesho announces new unlimited wellness leave policy

Ecommerce unicorn Meesho has introduced a new unlimited paid leave policy for medical and mental health reasons. Employees can avail up to 365 days of paid leave, and this is also applicable if the employee or a close family member requires frequent or constant hospitalisation due to a critical illness.

First reported by Economic Times, employees are entitled to full salary for the entire period of their illness, and 25 percent of income for up to three months in the case of illness of a family member. In addition to financial compensation, employees will continue to receive additional benefits such as insurance and provident fund deposits.

The policy is reportedly applicable for employees that wish to take time off to pursue individual goals as well, although it is not applicable for general, non-medical leaves.

"We were seeing cases where employees needed long leave for pursuing personal goals, or needed extended time off if they were ill, or if a family member was critically ill. This new policy is a recognition of those needs," Ashish Kumar Singh, CHRO at Meesho, told Economic Times.

Ashish said that they don't expect to see many employees availing this policy, but hopefully it can be a high-impact benefit for those employees that need it.

Despite recently layoffs, Meesho employs around 2,000 people. It raised $300 million led by Softbank last year to become a unicorn.