SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks’ U.S. employees have a new benefit: subsidized backup care for children and adults.

The company says employees will get up to 10 backup care days each year to use when regular care is unavailable. More than 180,000 employees will be eligible.

In-home backup care for kids or adults will cost employees $1 per hour. Care in a childcare center costs $5 per day.

Starbucks is partnering with Care.com, a company that connects people to caregivers. Starbucks will also offer its employees free senior care planning through Care.com.

The benefit is an unusual one. In a 2017 survey of U.S. employers, only 9 percent of companies with 1,000 employees or more offered back-up child care as a benefit, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox