Coming up on a year as a Starbucks partner (employee), coffeehouse leader Joseph W. is thinking about a season of life he’ll never forget.

Earlier this year, Joseph took parental leave after the birth of his second daughter. The weeks he spent at home gave him something he had been missing for years: uninterrupted time with his family.

“I was there for the little moments,” Joseph says. “Going for walks with my daughter, helping around the house, giving my wife time to rest. It sounds simple, but when you’ve worked in environments where you’re always on call, having that protected time is incredibly meaningful.”

For Joseph, the experience wasn’t just about stepping away from work. It was about being fully present at home, knowing he was supported both financially and emotionally. It was also confirmation that returning to Starbucks had been the right decision.

A boomerang partner, Joseph first joined Starbucks as a teenager in Vancouver. After building a career elsewhere, he returned to Starbucks in 2025 as an assistant store manager after reassessing what mattered most.

“When my second daughter was born, I started looking at work differently,” he says. “I wasn’t chasing the next title anymore. I wanted to work for a company that cared about me as a person and supported the life I was building outside of work.”

That search led him back to the green apron.

During the recruitment process, Joseph learned more about Starbucks leading family support benefits in Canada, including parental leave top-up. Since April 2025, benefits-eligible retail hourly partners with at least six months of continuous service have been eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of parental leave top-up, bringing income replacement to as much as 100 per cent of average earnings when combined with Employment Insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan. The benefit is available to eligible birth parents, adoptive parents and long-term foster parents.

For Joseph, knowing that support existed played a role in his decision to return.

“It showed me that Starbucks understood what Canadian families need and helped solidify a high level of loyalty,” he says. “Benefits tell you a lot about what a company values.”

When Joseph took leave at the beginning of 2026, he expected the time at home would help him bond with his younger daughter and support his growing family. What he didn’t expect was how important that flexibility would become.

Partway through his leave, Joseph’s wife became ill and required hospitalization. When he reached out for support, the response reflected the culture he had hoped for.

“My district manager connected me with the right people right away,” Joseph recalls. “I never felt like I had to choose between my job and my family.”

Just as important was the peace of mind that came with being able to fully unplug.

“I was able to completely disconnect,” he says. “Nobody was calling me. Nobody was texting me about work. Starbucks protected that time and allowed me to focus on where I needed to be.”

That experience of being heard, supported and trusted reinforced something Joseph believes sets Starbucks apart.

While parental leave was the benefit Joseph experienced firsthand, it is part of broader, retail-leading total rewards options supporting partners in Canada through every stage of their family journey. From fertility benefits and adoption and surrogacy reimbursement to family support services and comprehensive health coverage, Starbucks continues to evolve its offerings based on what partners say they need both at work and at home.

For Joseph, that commitment to listening makes all the difference. Reflecting on his parental leave, Joseph says the time with his family is something he will always value and something that wouldn’t have been possible without Starbucks support.

“People often think about jobs in retail a certain way,” he says. “My experience has shown Starbucks is a different kind of company. One that cares, that thinks of what its partners need in every stage of life and demonstrated care during one of the most important chapters of my life. That’s something I’ll always be grateful for.”

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About Starbucks Canada Family Support Benefits 

As part of its overall total rewards program, in addition to Parental Leave Top-Up benefit, Starbucks Canada offers all benefits-eligible partners – whether salaried or retail hourly who work an average  of 20 hours per week:    

• A maximum of $25,000 in IVF treatment and $10,000 for medication, for a total of $35,000 in potential insurance coverage   
• A maximum of $40,000 in benefits for intra-uterine inception (IUI) treatments  
• A Partner Choice Program  in which eligible partners can allocate an annual amount to a Health Spending Account (HSA) and/or Personal Wellness Account (PWA). The funds can be put towards a variety of out-of-pocket expenses including medical expenses not covered under Extended Health plan (HSA) or toward wellness and lifestyle expenses like childcare costs and groceries (PWA).  
• Family Support Services such as childcare matching, adoption services and caregiver support groups through TELUS Heath Employee Assistance Program (EAP).  

For more information about the benefits Starbucks Canada offers, visit starbucksbenefits.ca.