KINGSTON, Jamaica – Scotiabank has announced that it has adopted a new standard for parental leave for employees. The enhanced offering will include increased fully paid leave for all parents welcoming a new child, including both adoptive parents and parents who have given birth.

Maternity leave will be increased to 14 weeks leave – up from 12 weeks, while all fathers and adoptive parents with a new child will receive four fully paid weeks of parental leave.

Makeba Bennett-Easy, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, shared that in line with the bank’s Winning Team strategy the expansion of its parental leave programme and several other wellness initiatives have recently been implemented for the benefit of Scotiabank employees.

“There is also a wealth of information that illustrates the benefits of paid parental leave not just for parents, but also for children, the wider community and for companies,” Bennett-Easy said.

Proudly hailing the implementation of the new policy and the bank’s important role in serving its team members, Audrey Tugwell Henry, President and CEO, Scotia Group said “We value our employees and therefore, we actively strive to engender a sense of belonging and well-being as we cultivate a great place to work. We believe that as our employees grow their families, providing our support is both important and beneficial to them.”

The enhancements to the Parental Leave Policy came into effect in March 2022 for Scotiabank employees in Jamaica and other countries in the region where the bank operates.

“Delivering on our core purpose of ‘for every future’ underpins our approach to making our parental leave policy inclusive of all parents,” said Anya Schnoor, Executive Vice President, Caribbean, Central America and Uruguay.

“No matter where Scotiabankers are located, they will be able to expect quality coverage and flexibility that affords them the time away from work to support their families,” Schnoor added.