If a Google Employee Dies, Spouse Gets Half of Salary for 10 Years

It’s been long reported that Google treats its employees well, from offering them free food and fitness classes to laundry service and car washes. But according to a recent report, Google recently rolled out death benefits to employees, including a generous offer to pay the spouse or partner of a deceased staffer half of their salary for a decade.

The news of these death benefits — which was first reported by Forbes — also comes with “no tenure requirement,” which means each employee in its 34,000 workforce qualifies. It was put into place earlier this year.

Mashable confirmed with a Google spokesperson that the benefits don’t just stop at salary. The surviving spouse or partner of a deceased employee will also acquire vested stock benefits, and children will receive $1,000 a month until the age of 19. The timeline can be extended if the child is in school full time.

Google said it is taking this approach because it is the right thing to do, ensuring that each employee’s family is taken care of if an unforeseeable event were to occur — even if there is no direct benefit to the business.

Although it might attract more candidates to apply for a position, Google said that is not the reason why it implemented the benefits — more potential hires would just be a side effect.