Ahead of National Employee Appreciation Day on March 6, Chipotle announces additions to its benefits suite
Chipotle Mexican Grill has enhanced its Paid Parental Leave (PPL) program to better support new parents. Chipotle is also testing unlimited paid time off (PTO) for Restaurant Support Center Directors and above as well as Executive Team Directors and Team Directors in 2020. The pair of announcements will help the brand celebrate National Employee Appreciation Day on March 6.
Beginning this year, Chipotle will increase its Paid Parental Leave for Restaurant Support Center and eligible field employees to 12 weeks for birth moms and four weeks for new dads and individuals adopting children. The company recognizes that giving its employees plenty of time to bond with a new child is crucial to their development. Chipotle will also cover costs for nursing mothers to utilize breastmilk shipping services during work travel. Additionally, Chipotle’s HUSTLE (Humans Uniting to Support the Ladies’ Experience), an Employee Resource Group, will offer special ‘Returnity’ Guides for corporate employees to help ease their transition back to the workplace. The guides highlight and offer advice for:
- How to connect with Chipotle’s People Experience and Benefits teams
- How to voice ‘returnity’ needs
- Suggestions to discuss employees’ transition plan
- Internal and external resources that working parents can utilize and much more
“Over the past year, we’ve positioned ourselves as a leader in curating an environment that maximizes the potential of our outstanding workforce,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief People Officer. “We want to ensure our employees are able to share important moments with their family and have the necessary time away from work to recharge after a monumental life event.”
Chipotle’s new unlimited PTO test for senior level staff will help reward the leaders who are ultimately accountable for innovating and supporting the brand’s mission to Cultivate a Better World. This will give increased flexibility for these employees to juggle their many priorities at work as well as at home, without having to worry about accruing vacation or sick time. The organization will use its stage-gate process to make an informed decision on whether to roll this out to additional restaurant support levels once feedback has been assessed.
Chipotle’s new PPL program and unlimited PTO test continue to build on the company’s best-in-class employee benefits. In 2019, Chipotle introduced its crew bonus program, allowing restaurant employees the opportunity to earn an extra month’s worth of pay each year. To date, Chipotle has paid out over $2.75 million in crew bonuses with 10% of restaurants achieving a bonus in at least one quarter last year. Chipotle also announced its Debt-Free degree program in partnership with Guild Education, which allows all eligible employees, including crew members, to pursue a free college degree. Since launch, Chipotle has nearly doubled the number of active students in its Cultivate Education program, which includes tuition reimbursement and debt-free degree options. This benefit was followed by new health and financial wellness initiatives for more than 83,000 employees, which include access to personalized assistance from healthcare experts before, during and following medical needs through a partnership with Health Advocate. Mental health and emotional support has also been extended to all employees and their family members through in-person, phone or virtual visits with a licensed counselor to support personal, professional, mental, financial and/or legal concerns.
To further celebrate its real employees, Chipotle has rolled out its latest national advertising campaign, a continuation of Behind the Foil, featuring two new crew members preparing food in the restaurant. The individuals were selected after an open call for entries was issued to all restaurants. The documentary-style digital and TV spots aim to “pull back the foil” by featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Chipotle restaurants including Chipotle’s kitchens, equipment and prep routines, and featuring Chipotle employees and the farming partners that fuel the brand’s real ingredients.
