SINGAPORE: Employees of British alcoholic beverage firm Diageo here in Singapore will soon be entitled to more paid parental leave.
From Jul 1, both male and female staff will be able to take 26 weeks off when they become new parents.
AdvertisementAdvertisementCurrently, its 150 employees in Singapore, which serves as its Asia-Pacific headquarters, get 16 weeks of maternity leave and two weeks of paternity leave, as required by the Ministry of Manpower.
The changes are part of the company’s efforts to create a “fully inclusive and diverse workforce”, said its president for Greater China and Asia-Pacific Sam Fischer.
Apart from Singapore and its home country, the new parental leave policy will also be extended to Diageo’s offices in other markets including North America, Spain, Thailand and Australia.
Another company which recently revamped its policy to offer 26 weeks of gender-neutral parental leave is financial data and media conglomerate Bloomberg.
AdvertisementAdvertisementEmployees who are primary caregivers will now get 24 weeks of paid time off and 10 “transition days”. The latter allows employees to take a day off per week for 10 straights weeks upon returning to work.
Previously, primary caregivers, regardless of gender, are entitled to 18 weeks of paid parental leave.
“We recognise that every family is different, so our policies should reflect the needs of each and every colleague – across the world and regardless of gender,” founder Michael Bloomberg said in a May 15 announcement.
Six employees in Singapore will get to enjoy the new policy, a company spokesperson told CNA.
The benefit offered by Diageo and Bloomberg, which is way beyond the requirement stipulated by local authorities, is among the most generous parental leave policies available in Singapore, according to ManpowerGroup Singapore’s country manager Linda Teo.
Others that also offer more than what is mandated by the Government include Societe Generale. The French bank recently updated its policy to give female employees 20 weeks of maternity, which is one month more than what was offered previously. New fathers will now be entitled to three weeks of paternity leave.
Insurance company Prudential offers six months of maternity leave and three weeks of paternity leave for its employees, while Aviva Singapore extends 16 weeks of paid parental leave to both its male and female employees.
Meanwhile, employees of social media giant Facebook enjoy up to four months of paid parental leave.
Media streaming service Netflix does not stipulate a fixed number of parental leave days, as long as employees ensure that their responsibilities are covered.
“We basically provide parental leave along the same thinking of our ‘unlimited leave’ policy - but it's about ensuring employees and managers work closely together to understand what works for both the employee's family as well as the business,” said a spokesperson.
Having a more generous parental leave policy is seen by human resource experts as a way of adapting to growing demand for work-life balance and increasing number of men taking on childcare duties, said Ms Teo.
It is also seen by firms as an important way of retaining talent, she added.
“They recognise that the benefits outweigh the costs of offering these perks, such as saving on the time and cost of finding new replacements due to high attrition rate.”
Ms Teo added: “As high levels of talent shortage have resulted in a strong competition for talent among companies within their industries, offering such perks in addition to an attractive salary can play a major factor in influencing an employee’s decision to stay or leave.”
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Yet, such parental leave policies remain a minority in Singapore, with cost being a factor, said Ms Teo.
“Companies need to plan their resources carefully before implementing such generous leave policies as they can be costly. Besides the monthly salary and additional costs incurred to hire a temporary replacement, employers have to ensure productivity is not affected when the staff goes on leave,” she said.
“In Singapore, such policies are commonly found in large multinational companies and tech companies that have the resources to extend such perks,” she added.
On the issue of cost, companies that CNA approached declined to reveal specific figures.
Diageo, for instance, would only say the change is “a worthy investment in the long-term vitality of Diageo and aligns to our values and purpose”.
Societe Generale’s spokesperson said cost analyses were run and the “cost increases were viewed as an acceptable and fair investment”.
But even as these initiatives are rolled out, Ms Teo from ManpowerGroup said companies need to make sure that their staff do not feel penalised when using them.
She noted that there remains the stigma of how being on long leave may jeopardise one’s career progression.
Some companies told CNA that they have put in place other measures to foster an environment of trust and also to make sure that the managers are on the same page.
At Aviva Singapore, for instance, honour-based sick leave has been in place since 2013.
“Over time, through the policies implemented, we have fostered a safe environment that promotes trust. Employees understand that here in Aviva, it is not the culture to penalise staff for taking time off work,” said its people director for Southeast Asia Anuradha Purbey.
Ms Purbey also noted how an employee was recently promoted to assistant manager in his team, despite taking 16 weeks of paternity leave last year.
Over at Diageo, Mr Fischer said there has been “a lot of excitement in the office” since the new benefits were announced.
“A work-life balance is critical and parental leave is part of that,” he told CNA. “We hope the policy will support employees to experience the joy of raising a young family, while continuing to thrive at work.”
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