By Dipo Olowookere
Male members of staff of Access Bank Plc will from January 2018 now have the privilege of going on a maternity leave.
The leave, which lasts one week, will also come with monetary benefits, a statement issued by the bank disclosed.
“These benefits supplement the 12 weeks of paid leave Access Bank currently provides to birth mothers.
“The policy also complements the bank’s existing health and flexible workplace benefits, which support work-life balance,” Head of Group Human Resources at Access Bank, Bolaji Agbede, explained in the statement.
The enhanced parental leave policy, according to the lender, offers paid leave to all new parents at Access Bank, including mothers and fathers, as well as adoptive and surrogate parents.
It is to allow beneficiaries cater for their offspring and spend some quality time with the new addition to their family while supporting the new mother who needs the break.
Also included in the new policy is a surrogacy or adoptive leave with full pay for three calendar months for female employees of the bank.
“Studies have shown that fathers who take paternity leave are more likely to take an active role in child care tasks and will continue to play this role long after the period of leave has ended.
“It is important for the new father to take time off, regardless of family structure. This new policy is an evidence of the bank’s support to employees during this wonderful but challenging time in their lives,” Ms Agbede noted.
“Furthermore, a pregnant employee who has been in the bank’s employment for 12 consecutive months also has the option of six calendar months’ maternity leave with two-thirds of full month pay, while the surrogacy or adoptive leave period is three calendar months with full pay or six calendar months leave with two-thirds of full month pay,” she explained.
