The policy, called ‘Life Leave’ and rolled out this month, forms a key part of the brewer’s new ‘Moments that Matter’ programme, designed to offer employees more time to focus on their personal lives.
In recognition of growing demand for flexible working policies, Molson Coors employees will be able to use Life Leave on top of their existing holiday entitlement of 31 days and all other leave policies, including sickness and compassionate absence.
Speaking to HR magazine, HR director UK & Ireland Adam Firby said that it was important to him for the organisation to take genuine action on employee wellbeing. “Wellbeing is something that we feel really strongly about, and have been actively formalising as part of our culture for two years now," he said.
"We want our employees to turn up feeling as though they can be their true, authentic selves at work, but we know they can’t do that if it they feel overwhelmed in their day to day lives."
Firby said that recognising the range of pressures workers face is key to building strong relationships: “Life Leave can be used for anything from taking time to settle in a new pet at home, studying for exams, or the days leading up to a wedding. We know for example that moving house can be a difficult thing to fit in alongside work, so being able to give people time off to do this without it eating in to their holiday allowance can provide a huge sense of relief.”
Molson Coors was awarded a Silver accolade by Mind for its approach on their Workplace Wellbeing Index. “It’s really been gathering momentum. We’ve been able to offer a range of benefits in the past for employees, from yoga classes and massages, to making sure that line managers are able to provide the best support," said Firby.
"Lots of people on our team already work flexibly because of different commitments, but with Life Leave we wanted to take work flexibilit, and empower everyone in our business to use in a way that was meaningful to them, without exceptions.”
Firby said that while he hoped that the scheme would attract talent this was not his priority: “We hope that this will show others what we’re about as a company and it’s a great way of expressing our values. For us though, the main objective has always been to put our people first and to make sure we’re looking after them.”
