Bunker Holding Group extends 20-week paid parental leave globally

The family-owned Bunker Holding Group, the world’s largest bunker supplier, now extends a 20-week parental leave to all employees worldwide across offices in 34 countries. This aims to bring stronger workplace equality between genders to the industry.

Whether you’ve just become a mother or a father, Bunker Holding Group has as of August 2022 extended a 20-week paid parental leave to all employees globally, boosting the time parents can spend with their new-born child.

“The bunker industry being a rather conservative industry, parental leave has historically been viewed as maternity leave. At Bunker Holding we have set out to change this, and seeing as 72 percent of Bunker Holding Groups workforce is male, this new policy is going to benefit a lot of new fathers, who previously may not have felt they could prioritize family at the cost of office time,” says Pernille Græsdal Beck, Executive HR Business Partner, Group HR of Bunker Holding, and adds:

“However, not only the men will benefit from this new policy, as they can spend more time with their baby. Our goal is this will promote equal opportunities for female workers as well, as increasingly their male counterparts in the office too will enjoy an extended parental leave away from their work life.”

Bunker Holding Group employs 1600 people across the globe and for the first time, everyone will be offered 20 weeks of paid parental leave to engage with their family.

New parental leave policy sparks joy

Among Bunker Holding’s employees, the revised parental leave policy is already benefitting men, who are taking their leave, as they can now look forward to the fact that they will no longer experience a pay cut during their parental leave while enjoying an extended time off with their family.

General Manager of Bunker Holding’s Singapore office, Michael Ekdal Jacobsen, who will soon be going on parental leave, sees the initiative as very positive and is proud to be employed by a company that takes responsibility for its employees.

“I think it is such a strong move that Bunker Holding is now offering 20 weeks of paid parental leave for both mother and father. Especially for people sitting outside Denmark this is very much out of the ordinary. For me personally, I will definitely jump on the opportunity to increase my leave,” Michael Ekdal Jacobsen says and adds:

“This first time around your baby is precious and being able to enjoy that, not only with the approval and encouragement of my workplace but also with their financial support, is paramount.”

As well as receiving full pay during the parental leave, pooled bonuses of the offices are continuously awarded to the employee, minimizing the cost and increasing the incentive to take one’s leave in full.

Adding to the ESG agenda

The new parental leave policy builds on the recent efforts of Bunker Holding’s sustainability reporting, increasing the Group's commitment to not only the environment but also the diversity, equality, and inclusion agenda.

“Adding the parental leave policy to Bunker Holding Group is a natural extension of our commitment to the diversity, equality, and inclusion agenda outlined in our newly publicized Sustainability Report,” says Pernille Græsdal Beck, who is also weighing in on the ESG Council of Bunker Holding Group.

“For the past several years, Bunker Holding Group has gone through a modernization process, wanting to stay the best workplace in the industry, helping us attract the qualified labor force of tomorrow. Our new parental condition is one of the steps we have taken in evolving as a wholehearted and inclusive company.”

Bunker Holding came out with it’s first ever Sustainability Report in September 2022, outlining focus areas and business opportunities related to becoming a greener, more inclusive, and the most compliant company in the industry.