Supporting Work-life Balance

We provide a variety of systems and career support to enable employees to demonstrate their abilities to the fullest, regardless of gender, while caring for their children. Seminars are held for employees returning from childcare leave to encouraged them to consider career development after returning to work and to help eliminate anxiety by learning tips and tricks on how to balance work and family life.

As of the end of June 2023

We encourage male employees to take childcare leave as an opportunity to foster a culture in which it is natural for male employees to play a part in family functions, to discover new ideas through childcare, and to build a network outside the company. We hold seminars to promote the use of paternity leave and to encourage understanding of supervisors and colleagues in addition to those taking leave. SuMi TRUST Bank has set a target of realizing 100% use of employee paternity leave. In the 2022 fiscal year, we recommended that employees take a total of one month or more of childcare leave, and have established a unique system called the "Baby Care Leave System," which enables employees to take more flexible childcare leave.

We are working to develop systems and a corporte culture to support employees who continue to work while caring for family members during the age of the 100-year life. We distribute a handbook to help employees balance work and family life and hold regular seminars on this topic with the labor union. In addition, we regularly conduct nursing care seminars and offer a leave-of-absence system for nursing care that lasts up to one year, as well as a system of shorter working hours for up to three years (per eligible family member).Moreover, we’ve established a nursing care consultation service staffed by advisors . This service handles inquiries about balancing work and caregiving, addressing any questions or concerns through phone or e-mail.

Every year the SuMi TRUST Group holds seminars about nursing care. The Group also undertakes activities to promote awareness about its nursing care leave system.Seminar topics are varied—for example, we have thus far focused on the topics of nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the key points in choosing a nursing care facility, and how to deal with clients looking to discuss nursing care.

In the 2016 fiscal year, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank introduced a system that enables Course A employees, who normally are not transferred to remote working locations, to change their work locations if their spouse is relocated for work. Beginning in July 2017, employees who accompany their spouses (be they SMTB employees or not) to their overseas working locations were permitted to take a leave of absence. Applications for this system can be submitted regardless of gender. When a spouse is transferred overseas, it imposes a heavy burden on an employee's home environment and often forces the employee to choose between their family and career. This system was born out of the desire to give employees a third option and to support more autonomous career development. Both change in work location and leave of absence systems have been put to use, leading to better career advancement which is independent of live events.