John Keells introduces an equal 100 days of maternity and paternity leave days as parental leave

In another significant step towards strengthening Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), the John Keells Group introduced equal maternity and paternity leave days as Parental Leave commencing August 2022.

While the Group will continue to offer 100 days of maternity leave on the birth or adoption of a child, the 5-days of paternity leave will be enhanced to 100 days, ensuring equity, and recognising the importance of both parents’ roles in early childcare. Further, as the Group understands that each family may have circumstances unique to them, during the birth of their child or children, there is flexibility built into how an employee can avail of the 100 days of Parental Leave.

Speaking on the initiative Krishan Balendra, Chairperson John Keells Group said “one of the key objectives of offering equal number of maternity and paternity leave days is to eliminate discrimination associated with recruiting women, due to potential instances of maternity leave. With the Group’s 5-year goal of achieving 40% women in the workforce, it is imperative that we address gender biases at every stage of a person’s career within the John Keells Group.”

With the enhancement of the number of paternity leave to 100 days at the birth or adoption of a child, the Group aims to provide support to partners in the workforce outside of John Keells. This flexible arrangement will enable working women to return to their respective workplaces after their maternity leave, thereby truly strengthening our commitments on DE&I to the wider society. The Group drives DE&I under the brand ONE JKH and works towards achieving gender parity by increasing female participation in the workforce and empowering women in the supply chain and communities, increasing career opportunities for persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusivity of the LGBTIQ+ community.

John Keells Holdings PLC is Sri Lanka’s premier diversified company on the Colombo Stock Exchange operating over 70 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors, providing employment to over 14,000 persons. The company has been ranked as Sri Lanka’s ‘Most Respected Entity’ for 16 Years by LMD Magazine and ranked first in the Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment by Transparency International Sri Lanka for 2 consecutive years. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a Participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” through the John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Plasticcycle’, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.