Skip to content
Family-friendly Employment Practices
Introduction to Family-friendly Employment Practices

Family-friendly Employment Practices

Why should we promote Family-friendly Employment Practices?

Family-friendly employment practices (FFEPs) are good human resource management measures adopted by employers to help employees balance work and family obligations. They are also part of the management strategies to create a win-win situation for employers and employees.

An employee is not only a staff of an organisation, but also plays the family role of a parent, son or daughter. As a good employer, creating a family-friendly working environment not only fosters employees’ sense of belonging by relieving their pressure from shouldering both work and family responsibilities, but also enhances its corporate image and assists in attracting and retaining manpower.

To cultivate a family-friendly workplace, the management’s recognition of relevant concept and their full support in terms of resources and action as well as mutual support among staff are indispensable.

What are Family-friendly Employment Practices？

Employers can put in place different types of FFEPs, having regard to their company size, resources and culture, as well as employees’ family needs, to serve the best interests of the enterprises and the employees.

Examples of FFEPs include:

  1. Special leave to meet employees’ family needs

    • Provide marriage leave to employees getting married
    • Provide working parents with parental leave for attending school functions of their children
    • Introduce filial leave to employees for celebrating their parents’ birthdays to show their filial piety
    • Offer compassionate leave during the time when employees have to take care of domestic duties when a family member dies or is sick
    • Allow employees taking special casual leave to deal with urgent family matters

  2. Flexible work arrangements

    • Facilitate employees to better manage their family commitments through adopting flexible working hours or flexitime and let them choose the time of reporting and leaving work within the agreed limits
    • Make arrangement for employees to work from home
    • Arrange shorter workweek (e.g. four to five work days per week). On the premise of reasonable daily working hours, employees can have longer rest periods every week enabling more time to spend with their families
    • Offering part-time or split jobs to cater needs of employees who are also family carers

  3. Support for the employees and their families

    • Allowing employees to bring children to work in case of need
    • Organise recreational activities for employees and their family members
    • Offer medical protection for employees and their family members
    • Arrange counselling services on stress or emotional management for employees and their family members
    • Provide child care service to relieve employees’ pressures in looking after their young and school-age children
    • Set up a lactation room at the workplace for working mothers with relevant needs
    • Provide scholarships for employees’ children