Reason number 1,063 that working at RSA is awesome. When our daughter arrived 6 weeks early last month, my parental leave plans got fast-tracked! Despite only having been in my new role for approximately 5 minutes (OK, maybe 2 months), there we were - with no hospital bag packed - but with the full support of all my amazing colleagues and the incredible People team to focus on my wife and our daughters.

RSA’s equal parental leave offering (up to 52 weeks, 26 of which are at full pay, for either partner) means that I can take a chunk of time out from work. And whilst there’s a great deal of FOMO for me personally, as we rebrand to Intact Insurance and go on an incredible journey with our employees in the coming months 🚀, I’m also super excited and grateful about the time ahead as a family unit. I’m looking forward to coming back to work in the Autumn 🍂 .

Special thanks 🙏🏻 to the amazing People Leadership team, and in particular Alison Meale and Jennifer Francis who are leading the function whilst I’m out, and Jacquelyne Green who will continue to be the glue holding it together. You’ve got this 💪🏼.

Also huge thanks to Ken Norgrove and Carla Smith for your unwavering support. I know that the fact that you have enabled a really clear message of support for equity and inclusion all the way through the organisation was never in a moment’s doubt for either of you, but it does speak volumes about the type of organisation we are.

Finally, thank you also to the whole team and in particular Gemma Jackson for the lovely baby outfits in partnership with #frombabieswithlove - a fantastic thing that RSA does in support of a very worthy cause.

I can wholeheartedly say that Intact’s values shine through every day - through the big and the small. This is how you enable people to thrive.