Beyond parental leave: 'Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers' for 2025 are announced

TORONTO, April 2, 2025 /CNW/ - For many Canadians, finding a family-friendly employer used to mean landing a job that included maternity or parental leave top-up pay – and not much more. Today, however, employers across the country are raising the bar when it comes to helping employees balance work and family commitments. The best of these initiatives were recognized today as Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers (2025) were announced by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition.

"Almost three-quarters of this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers applicants now offer some level of maternity or parental leave," says Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp. "To distinguish themselves, employers are offering a wider range of family-friendly benefits. From assistance with adoption and IVF to flexibility in allowing employees to take care of family obligations in work hours, we see employers extending their family-friendly benefits beyond just the traditional maternity and parental leave top-up pay."

Of course, 'family-friendly' doesn't only mean supporting employees with children or those navigating fertility challenges. With more Canadians feeling 'sandwiched' – taking care of young children and aging parents at the same time – forward-thinking employers are stepping up with innovative policies designed to help employees balance caregiving demands with their responsibilities at work.

"This year's winners have expanded their benefits to include flexible working arrangements, eldercare resources, and well-organized programs that reflect the range of needs by modern families," adds Leung. "These programs are designed to provide relief to employees who may face multiple demands on their time from family, besides their work responsibilities."

This year's winners also increasingly provide the same top-up pay regardless of whether it's the mother or father who's taking the parental leave. In addition, compassionate leave top-up pay is becoming more common at many of this year's winners, providing valuable assistance when an employee is called upon to care for a loved one.

Now in its 24^th year, Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers is one of the longest-running competitions within the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. This special designation recognizes the employers that do the most to help their employees balance work and family obligations. The employers chosen for this list are the leaders in helping employees balance their work and family commitments. The editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers evaluate each employer in terms of the programs and initiatives they have to help employees balance work and family commitments. The competition looks at a wide range of HR practices, such as: maternity and parental leave; daycare assistance; paid personal- and earned-days-off (EDO) programs; flexible work arrangements; compassionate leave and elder care assistance; adoption assistance; reproductive assistance, including fertility drugs and IVF; and even academic bursaries for employees' children. In addition, our editors look at other programs each employer may have to address specific work-life balance issues unique to their industry.

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 19 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach millions of Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners, including The Globe and Mail. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, used by millions of job-seekers annually to find new job postings and discover what the nation's best employers are offering. 

The full list of Canada's Top Family-Friendly Employers (2025) was announced today by the editors of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Detailed 'reasons for selection' for each of this year's winners, as well as stories and photos about their initiatives, were released today by the editors and are accessible via the competition homepage.

Join the discussion about today's announcement on social media:
Instagram & Facebook: @topemployers
Twitter/X: @top_employers
Hashtags: #FamilyFriendlyEmployers #topemployers2025

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Further information: Chantel Watkins, Assistant Editor, [email protected]