Hamidah (second left) is seen with a few of CIMB’s expectant mothers.
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB) announced a fresh benefit of six months paid maternity leave for its employees who become first-time mothers.
In a press statement, it said, this benefit, which took effect on January 1, for all employees in Malaysia, is another step forward for new parents, following CIMB’s one-month paid paternity leave – announced last year – for first-time fathers.
CIMB Group’s chief people officer, Datuk Hamidah Naziadin said, “This enhanced maternity benefit, and our existing one-month paternity leave are part of our new holistic approach on managing human capital, by recognising that employees have different needs at different phases of their life, and by promoting a shared parenting culture for young families in our workforce.
“We also believe that by allowing first-time parents a longer period to adjust to parenthood, they could create a more meaningful and positive experience with their first-borns whilst maintaining their career.
“We are also exploring the possibility of extending this benefit to all our employees group-wide.”
CIMB employees who are first time mothers will have the flexibility to commence this benefit as early as 30 days prior to their estimated delivery date. This benefit could be further complemented by CIMB’s Staff Rejuvenation Programme, which allows employees up to six months’ unpaid leave. Hence, first-time mothers could effectively take a whole year off to care for their first-born.
According to CIMB, other initiatives in support of employees’ family needs include a work-from-home policy, allowing staff with children aged five and below or with special needs, to work from home for one day a week.
CIMB was ranked one of the top 100 most diverse and inclusive organisations globally by Thomson Reuters’ Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Index 2018. The independent and objective ranking is based on the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, designed to objectively measure the relative performance of more than 7,000 companies globally. CIMB’s award-winning HR policy on employees’ holistic growth and well-being was one of the contributing factors to its inclusion in the index.