Forget the iPads: Company offers paid leave as Christmas raffle prize

A Philippine company raffled off five days of additional paid leave as part of prizes at a Christmas party, according to a TikTok video. — Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik

A new mobile phone or a spa treatment as a holiday gift for your employees? How about additional paid leave? A Philippine cosmetics company has come up with this novel idea.

Colourette Cosmetics raffled off five days of additional paid leave as part of prizes at a Christmas party, according to a TikTok video from Nina Cabrera, the founder and chief executive officer of the homegrown makeup brand.

Cabrera said on Twitter on Dec 13 she was inspired by a viral post from a Philippine lawyer that laments how a big TV won’t matter if the employees are stuck in the office all the time.

The prize is a welcome move in the Philippines, which lags its neighbours like Singapore and Indonesia in leave entitlement. According to the Philippine labour code, an employee who has worked for at least a year is entitled to five days of paid leave, although local companies tend to offer more time off than the legal minimum.

A lack of respite from work could make employees more tense. A Gallup survey showed Filipino workers were among the most stressed in South-East Asia, according to local media.

In a sign of public approval, Cabrera’s TikTok post had attracted some 8,000 likes and largely positive comments on Dec 14. One top reply read: "This is the new normal for companies who value and appreciate their employees. Best boss you’ll ever have guys!”

The idea to give workers more paid leave also echoes how international companies like Patagonia and Airbnb are adopting a framework focusing on employee wellbeing. – Bloomberg