Deutsche Bank grants new dads 4 months off

Deutsche Bank in Asia-Pacific unveiled Thursday a set of measures to create an environment where more male employees can take paternity leave.

Deutsche Bank Korea has offered 120 days of paid maternity leave to women, which is 30 days longer than the legal requirement and what many other financial institutions offer in the country, but now the same benefits will be offered to male employees starting this year, the bank said in a press release Thursday.

“The plan is to have a working environment that offers more family-friendly policies by giving opportunities to combine family and employment,” said the bank.

Now the men at the bank can take paternity leave for 120 days for a baby’s birth or if they are the main parent or primary caregiver of a newborn. To be considered a primary caregiver, workers need to care for children during business hours.

Workers can receive 10 days of paid leave if they are not the primary caregiver but are assisting their spouses.

Deutsche also said it will allow men to take 30 days of paternity leave after their wives return to the work force following 90 days of maternity leave. The same rules will be applied to workers who adopt children younger than 7 years old.

“We expect the new policy will help the bank to grow even further from now on,” Ahn Sung-eun, Deutsche Bank’s chief country officer for Korea, said in a press release.

“I believe the new policy will be able to get settled in a short period of time if everyone considers others while having time to think about the meaning and purpose of the bank’s policies focusing on inclusion and diversity.”

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank said its India branch will offer men six months off, the same leave they offer women there, starting this month.

BY KIM YOUNG-NAM [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]