Bengaluru, Aug 26: Meesho’s Care+, a Career Continuity Framework covers a comprehensive set of practices and benefits designed to help employees navigate parenthood without compromising long-term career growth. Bringing together structured return planning, flexible work arrangements, performance safeguards and comprehensive caregiving benefits, Care+ creates a seamless support system from the moment employees prepare for parenthood through their return to work and beyond.
While parental leave has become an important part of workplace support, the transition back to work remains one of the biggest challenges for working parents. Care+ addresses this critical phase by helping employees return with clarity, rebuild professional momentum and continue advancing in their careers. Built on the belief that becoming a parent should never come at the cost of professional growth, the framework shifts the focus from time away from work to long-term career continuity.
Designing the Return Before the Leave Begins
At the heart of Care+ is a fundamental shift in how organisations support employees returning to work. Every employee begins planning their return before caregiver leave starts, working with their manager and HRBP to create a personalised reintegration plan with clear expectations, milestones and ongoing support. Employees can also opt for flexible work arrangements for up to 12 months after returning, including phased schedules of 25%, 50% or 75%, allowing them to gradually balance caregiving responsibilities with work.
Performance safeguards are formally embedded into the framework, ensuring employees are evaluated on their contribution rather than time away from work. Together with structured reintegration and flexible work, Care+ helps employees transition back into meaningful work and leadership opportunities with confidence. By designing support around the return journey rather than just the leave itself, Care+ ensures parenthood becomes a milestone in an employee’s career, not a pause in it.
Sagarika Ayyannamahanthi, General Manager at Meesho who returned after her caregiver leave, said:
“Returning to work after becoming a parent comes with a lot of questions, especially when you’re stepping into something completely new. I was moving into a role I’d never done before, and naturally there was some anxiety about balancing it all. What made the biggest difference was knowing I didn’t have to figure it out alone. At Meesho, I had the flexibility to return at a pace that worked for my family, the confidence and support of my manager and team, and an environment that understood what this transition truly looks like. That gave me the confidence to focus on both my career and my family, without feeling like I had to choose between the two.”
A Caregiving Ecosystem Built Around Every Family
Care+ has adopted a caregiver-first approach that supports biological, adoptive and commissioning parents, single parents and diverse family structures, placing caregiving responsibilities at the centre of the framework. The framework includes up to one year of caregiver support, 30 weeks of fully paid leave for primary caregivers, 30 days for secondary caregivers, nine days of Expectant Care Leave, ₹1 lakh in adoption assistance, ₹10,000 per month in daycare support and access to more than 1,000 daycare centres across India.
As part of this commitment, Meesho is also actively hiring professionals looking to return to work after maternity leave or extended caregiving breaks, believing that career pauses should never become career barriers. The company recognises that time away from work does not diminish talent, ambition or leadership potential. By fostering an environment built on flexibility, trust and long-term career growth, Meesho is committed to helping experienced professionals re-enter the workforce with confidence, rebuild momentum and thrive in the next chapter of their careers.
Redefining Workplace Parenthood
With Care+, Meesho has redefined workplace parenthood by extending support beyond caregiver leave and making career continuity the foundation of the employee experience. Rather than viewing parenthood as a temporary interruption, the framework is designed to help employees navigate one of life’s biggest transitions while continuing to build fulfilling, long-term careers enabling employees to return, grow and thrive.