Leave & Other Policies
Vacation, Sickness, Health Care, Parental Leave, and more.
This section gives a high-level overview of the various leave, benefits, and other policies at Octopus. It's not exhaustive, so check the policy page it links to for specific details.
Since we employ people worldwide, the arrangements for each are a little different. You'll actually be employed by a different company:
Octopus Deploy Pty. Ltd. for Australian staff
Octopus Deploy Inc. and TriNet for US staff
Octopus Deploy Ltd. for UK staff
Octopus Deploy NZ Ltd. for NZ staff
Remote.com for staff in other geographies
The US, UK, and NZ companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Australian company. We don't hire people as contractors (except for short engagements), so everybody is a permanent employee.
In the US, we use TriNet, a professional employer organization. They administer your health benefits and payroll. It's a co-employment relationship; you're employed through Octopus and TriNet.
Vacation, Annual, and Sick/Carer's Leave
This varies by country. We've tried to standardize and harmonize where we can, but the legal requirements and norms in each country are different, so there are a few differences.
In all countries, we offer:
25 days of annual leave
10 days of paid sick & carers leave
Leave needs to be booked into either Bob (Australia/UK), Xero (NZ) or TriNet (US) or Remote.
Christmas/New Years shutdown
Between Christmas and New Years' day, there are a number of public holidays. Our customers generally aren't around, and many people take annual leave at this time, so it's impossible to get anything done. For this reason, we shut the company down during this period.
We do ask a few people to stay on to handle incoming tickets, but for most people, it will mean there will be 3-4 days of time off during this period, which will come from your annual leave allowance.
Parental Leave
Becoming a parent is an exciting journey for many people, and at Octopus, we would like to support you in this journey. Anyone becoming a parent through childbirth or adoption, as long as they have been working at Octopus for at least 12 months at the time of the event.
Upon the birth or adoption of a child (an ‘event’), we’ll offer you:
12 weeks of fully Paid Parental Leave, regardless of whether you are the primary or secondary carer. This will be in addition to other benefits you may be entitled to, for example, the Government-paid parental leave scheme in Australia.
Superannuation and pension contributions will continue to be paid in full during the 12 weeks of paid parental leave
Annual and sick leave continue to accrue during the 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
In the tragic circumstances of stillbirth, from the 20th week of pregnancy onwards, you remain entitled to paid and unpaid parental leave.
In addition to the 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, you may also decide to take up to 12 months of Unpaid Parental Leave, followed by an additional 12 months subject to approval.
Our Paid Parental Leave can be used flexibly over the six months following the event. The first six weeks must be taken as a single block immediately before or after the event. The other six weeks can be taken flexibly over the six months following the event - e.g., returning to work four days per week, taking every Friday off.
The Leave Policy page has the full details of our leave policy, including how to enter leave, how negative leave works, and so on.
Healthcare and Benefits (US)
In the US, we offer generous healthcare benefits through TriNet. This includes:
Employee | Dependents | |
Medical | 100% | 50% |
Vision | 100% | 50% |
Dental | 100% | 50% |
Life Insurance up to $50,000* | 100% | n/a |
Long term disability | 100% | n/a |
We have two Healthcare plans to choose from, both through United HealthCare - one on a Choice Plus Network, the other is HSA Eligible. Full details can be gotten from the manager you're interviewing with, or from the TriNet portal if you're already employed with us.
Australia and the UK have functioning first-world public healthcare systems 😉, so we don't offer these programs there.
Retirement funds
In Australia, Octopus pays the mandatory superannuation guarantee on your behalf to your nominated fund.
In the UK, we pay 5% of your salary to your pension on your behalf. The company also contributes an additional 5% that is not deducted from your pay.
In the US, you can contribute to a TransAmerica 401(k) fund. . Octopus matches your contribution depending on what you contribute, to a maximum of 4%.
In NZ, Octopus contributes 3% towards KiwiSaver.
View the full details of our 401(k) matching, and how superannuation or pensions work, on our retirement fund policy.
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