According to Business Daily, Female employees at alcohol company East African Breweries Limited (EABL) who are mothers of newborns, could get up to six months maternity leave, complete with pay.
This development is in line with East African Breweries Limited’s British parent company; Diageo’s global policy for its workers.
Diageo said in a statement: “The full details of each country-specific policy, application to non-wholly owned subsidiaries, and the timing of its roll-out will be shared in due course and is subject to local legal, board and regulatory requirements,”.
Diageo had initially offered a minimum period of four weeks paternity leave, but a significant number of its businesses operating in North America, Singapore and Russia, opted to give fathers the maximum 26 weeks, just like mothers.
Other countries with Diageo owned businesses who have settled on the 26-week fully paid maternity and paternity leave include Australia, Columbia, Ireland, Italy, Thailand, the Philippines, Spain, the Netherlands, and Venezuela.
According to Diageo’s Chief Human Resources Officer; Mairéad Nayager, the move towards the generous family leave policy will help support employees to focus on the joy of raising a young family while continuing to thrive at work, according to Diageo chief human resources officer.
Mairéad Nayager added that “Global businesses like Diageo must make bold moves on policies and the environments in which their employees work to ensure that the progress people deserve happens,”.
Diageo was one of the 230 companies included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality, which distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality.
This new global policy by Diageo’s, which already offers one of the most generous packages for working parents, is expected to go live from the 1st of July 2019.
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) which had 1,591 employees as at end of June last year (2018) on Monday the 27th of May 2019, announced that it has already started implementing the enhanced benefit for both its male and female employees in the region, as part of its campaign “to create a fully inclusive and diverse workforce”.
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) in a statement to Business Daily said Its policy offers female employees in EABL a minimum of 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave,”.
It added that “EABL is also setting a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave on full rate of pay in all markets”.
It will also give fathers prolonged periods of parental leave as well, with pay, regardless of how long they have been employees at the company.
Currently, Kenyan Law allows a fully paid, three-month maternity leave and a two-week paternity break for fathers.
Many companies however frown upon such breaks, viewing them as an additional labour cost that sometimes forces them to hire temporary workers.
Group Managing Director for East African Breweries Limited (EABL); Andrew Cowan on Monday the 27th of May 2019, said “We strongly believe that businesses play a significant role in shaping the future of society.”.
East African Breweries Limited (EABL) just like telecommunications giant; Safaricom, already offers flexible working hours to lactating mothers and has also set up nursing rooms for them.
In 2018, Diageo was also named by Thomson Reuters as the fourth most-inclusive and diverse company in the world.
Diageo’s move matches that of US communications and finance firm Bloomberg LP (which also has an office in Nairobi).
Bloomberg in the middle of May 2019, announced that it had expanded its parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks.
