Female employees of Maybank Malaysia will enjoy longer maternity leave, according to a recent announcement by the bank.
The new scheme, which comes after a review of the existing people policies and programmes, allows eligible female employees to extend their maternity leave for up to a year in total from the start of their leave, with variable pay. They will be entitled to full pay for 90 days, followed by half pay for the subsequent three months. For the last six months, they will be on no pay.
Maybank Group chief human capital officer Nora Manaf said, “The extended maternity leave period will not constitute a break in an employee’s employment, and will also see the employee being provided with medical and insurance coverage in accordance with her benefit grade.”
Besides the enhanced maternity leave, Maybank has rolled out a sabbatical leave policy where eligible employees can go on a career break for a minimum of 3 months, and not exceeding 24 months, with the assurance of returning to work.
“During the period of no pay Sabbatical Leave, employees will continue to enjoy certain benefits such as medical and insurance coverage up to a certain period of time,” added Manaf.
Work-family balance is of paramount importance to women, and according to a survey by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Gallup, it is the biggest challenge facing female employees. Both men and women in most countries shared the same sentiments.
The UN agency estimated that 41% of working women have a statutory right to maternity leave, and 34% of the total are legally entitled to cash benefits during maternity leave.
“Despite progress, the large majority of working women in the world do not have adequate maternity protection.” the UN agency said.
Sources
http://www.hrdmag.com.sg/news/malaysian-bank-offers-yearlong-maternity-leave-234007.aspx
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/03/08/maybank-offers-extended-maternity-leave-of-1-year/
