Massy Distribution worker goes on paternity leave in June

Paternity leave has already been approved for one employee of Massy Distribution who will go off on 25 days leave in June, which equates to five weeks of paid leave, one more week than what fathers in the public sector are entitled. June is the month when the employee’s wife is projected to give birth and his leave is timed to coincide with her maternity leave.

This makes the company among the first private sector firms locally to incorporate a paternity leave policy into its overall human resources plan, in keeping with the government’s move to facilitate paid paternity leave for public sector workers which took effect on January 1, this year.

In explaining the rationale for the company’s decision, Assistant Vice-President Mervelyn Doughorty said that the company honour families, with love and care being core values upon which the firm is built.

“That really is the driving force behind this policy change. We understand the importance of fatherhood and the key role fathers play, especially in the early stages of the child’s life, both in terms of the bonding time with baby and the dedicated support that their partners need.”

Doughorty who is also head of the human resources department further explained that this move is aligned with the global awareness and acknowledgment of the importance of implementing paternity leave policies, overwriting outdated notions that child care should rest solely in the hands of mothers.

“A functional paternity policy is a conscious effort to alleviate the increasing struggles of working fathers’ visible, yet previously unavoidable absence from the critical first month of a baby’s adjustment into the family. We understand the importance of fatherhood and the key role fathers play, especially in the early stages of the child’s life; both in terms of the bonding time with baby and the dedicated support that their partners need.”

According to Doughorty, the implementation of these kinds of forward-thinking policies further improves the retention of the workforce, helping companies to attract and keep the best talent.

“As we approach our 100th year as a company and we look to the future, Massy as a regional company intends to make the work experience in the Caribbean different. Driven by our love and care values, we recognise that our team members are people first; with dreams, and aspirations and lives beyond the office. Massy is committed to being an employer of choice in Jamaica, wholeheartedly believing that happy staff make for successful businesses.”