Giordano Announces Introduction of 14- Week Maternity Leave and Shortened Working Hours
Giordano International Limited ("Giordano") today announced two enhanced employee benefit measures to address employees' life-work needs and to promote a more family-friendly working environment. These include:
1. Extended maternity leave - From 23rd October 2018, Giordano corporate headquarters in Hong Kong will enforce a 14-week paid maternity leave policy, taking care of the needs of parents in our Hong Kong offices and on the front-line with newborn babies; and
2. Shortened working hours - a trial program introduced in August 2018 to reduce working hours by 1-hour per working day will now be made permanent to fulfill individual employees' personal and professional goals.
Chairman and Chief Executive of Giordano, Dr. Peter Lau, said: "We have always stressed that our people are our greatest asset. Apart from their professional development, we are also committed towards their work-life balance and to address their family needs and personal aspirations. We believe that these measures create a win-win situation for both sides, allowing us to maximize the productivity and performance of individuals as well as the organization as a whole".
Executive Director and Group Human Resources Director of Giordano, Mr. Mark Loynd, added: "We have many working parents within the Group. Having allowed our staff to apply for flexi-working hours to support their parenting needs for some time now, we are confident that the confirmation of our shortened working hours as well as our extended maternity leave policies will further address their work-life balance needs". Mr. Loynd continued, "The fact that we are extending our paid maternity leave to 14-weeks well in advance of government proposals reflects our commitment towards creating a better working environment for our staff. In the near future, we hope to advance our parental leave initiatives by also enhancing our paternity leave policy".
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