Workers who have worked with Citigroup for at least five years can take up to 12 weeks of leave to do whatever they want – and they will still receive a regular vacation allowance.
The number of workers is limited to two leave, as they will receive 25% of their base wage and their jobs will be protected.
“People may need a break to pursue their personal interests, education, they may have an ongoing family situation, and they may just need to take a break to take care of their well-being,” Arber said.
“It could be any of the above. We will not review the reason. We will only review business coverage.”
Employees who choose to volunteer for a charity must also be with Citigroup for five years, and can use the benefit twice.
Citigroup also expanded the childcare benefits it offered during the pandemic, such as discounts on test preparation and tutoring services.
Many large companies have benefited from home workers because they tend to work longer hours.
With vaccine distribution underwayCompanies are now looking at the business life after the pandemic.
“As we move into the next stages of the crisis, it is important to have a remuneration strategy that is fair, flexible and relevant to the different ways in which people will and will work in the future,” said Ben Wilmot, of CIPD at the Human Resources Authority.
“This means that there is likely to be a need for more focus on benefits that support work-life balance such as enhanced annual leave, or those that enhance people’s health and well-being in other ways.”
Arber added that Citigroup will begin reviewing all roles in the first quarter to assess employees who may benefit from working from home more often in the long term.
