Malaysian bank offers yearlong maternity leave

Femal employees of Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank Malaysia) can now file for maternity leave that lasts for as long as 365 days.

Juggling between work and taking care of a newborn child can be quite a task for women all over the world, even with the prescribed maternity leaves.

In celebration of the International Women’s Day, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank Malaysia) announced that it will be extending female employees’ maternity leave to as long as 365 days.

The generous offer, as per The Star Online,  is significantly longer than the national mandatory leave of 60 days, or two months, that mothers usually receive.

“The enhancement to the existing 90-days maternity leave policy is yet another feature of our commitment to the bank’s diversity and inclusion agenda,” Maybank Chief Human Capital Officer Nora Manaf said in a statement.

“[The] policy presents an opportunity for our female employees to cope with the demands of their newborn child and motherhood, while finding the balance to juggle work and life before returning to and performing effectively in their roles in the workplace,” the executive added.

However, the company will not shoulder the entire employee’s salary throughout the whole year.

In addition to the fully paid 90 days’ maternal leave policy, female employees will have an option to file for an extended three months, where they’ll receive half their salary. The final six months will be unpaid.

Still, Maybank’s offer remains one of the most generous in the world, but still has a long way to go compared with Sweden’s 56-week maternity leave and 80 percent of the employee’s salary.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra/rga

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