Molson Coors, whose breweries include the Franciscan Well Brewery and Brewpub in Cork, has brought in an initiative which offers staff up to two weeks extra paid leave annually.
The policy, called ‘Life Leave’, forms a key part of the brewer’s new ‘Moments that Matter’ programme.
Molson Coors’s employees will be able to use Life Leave on top of their existing holiday entitlement and all other leave policies, including sickness and compassionate absence.
It can be used for anything from taking time to settle in a new puppy at home, moving house, studying for exams, or the days leading up to a wedding.
Ryan McFarland, General Manager for the Island of Ireland, at Molson Coors, said: “The way we all work has changed. For our people to perform at their best, we recognise they need an employer that provides flexibility and understands their personal priorities.
"There are often things going on in our lives which we would normally use annual leave to sort out, but this eats into actual downtime.
"We wanted to change that and give our people the ability to take care of what matters in their life without running down holiday days.”
Molson Coors is Ireland’s third-largest beer company and employs more than 2,000 people across the UK and Ireland, with almost 100 staff across the Island of Ireland.
The company brews Pravha, Staropramen, Blue Moon, Offshore, Rekorderlig and Aspall Cyder, alongside Coors Light, Carling - the UK’s number one selling lager, and the UK’s number one selling cask ale - Doom Bar.
Recently, the brewer received a Silver accolade from mental health charity, MIND, in its annual Workplace Wellbeing Index.
Adam Firby, HR Director UK & Ireland, at Molson Coors, added: “We’re really proud of the team culture we’ve created. Many of our employees already work on a flexible basis, but we wanted to take this one step further.
"Launching Life Leave allows people to use their holiday as it’s meant to be – a break – whilst knowing they’ve got the breathing space to tap into extra leave for the planned and unplanned life moments."
“One of our driving principles is to empower our people to come to work as themselves, without feeling pressure to fit a corporate mould or to always keep their personal life away from work. This mindset puts us in a really good place to embed this scheme and with our ‘Moments that Matter’ programme we hope we can continue to nurture and attract the best talent in the industry.”
As part of its commitment to improving workplace wellbeing, Molson Coors has three fully trained mental health ‘champions’ working across its different sites on the island of Ireland.
They are available to provide support and advice to colleagues when needed, as well as to direct them to professional help where required.
Life Leave will be drawn down by employees annually on top of their standard 32 days of annual leave in Ireland (including bank holidays), on a personal basis.
