13.10.2023
‘After all, a company’s greatest asset is its people. And people’s most valuable resource is time. If someone has already invested a considerable amount of time and energy into a company, it is only fair to give back to them,’ says Liisa Põldma, HR Manager at LHV, when talking about the new additional leave option at LHV.
At the beginning of the summer, LHV employees were introduced to a new type of sabbatical leave for more experienced senior employees. Starting in September, employees who have been with LHV for at least seven years will be able to take an additional six-week paid break, in addition to their annual and winter holidays and health days, in order to take some time off from work completely. LHV currently has 135 such employees and the first are already enjoying their well-earned holidays.
According to Põldma, it is important to listen to people so that they not only want to come to LHV but also want to stay here. And so, in addition to the existing benefits, a new additional sabbatical was born, because it was at a hackathon for our own people that the idea of a sabbatical came up, authored by Joel Kukemelk, who has worked at LHV for over 17 years and is now a Member of the Management Board at LHV Varahaldus.
‘People are not robots. Sometimes, you just need to take some time for yourself or to discover the world. A sabbatical is just the time to really pull the plug for a while. It is everyone’s choice how to recharge their batteries and find new energy and creativity to return to LHV. The main thing is that people know how and can really switch off for a longer period of time,’ says Kukemelk.
The idea of a sabbatical is to take a six-week holiday all at once. For the first time, there will be a six-week period of additional leave for those who have been employed for at least seven consecutive years, and every four years thereafter. At the same time, of course, pay is maintained.
According to Liisa Põldma, HR Manager at LHV, six weeks means plenty of time to do something you would not otherwise have time for. ‘Whether it is the desire to go on a long trip, take up a hobby, do some repairs or just be. The last one is particularly important,’ she adds.
LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group’s key subsidiaries are LHV Pank, LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus, and LHV Bank Limited. The Group employs over 990 people. As at the end of August, LHV’s banking services are used by 403,000 clients, the pension funds managed by LHV have 127,000 active clients, and LHV Kindlustus protects a total of 160,000 clients. LHV Bank Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, holds a banking licence in the UK and provides banking services to international financial technology companies, as well as loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
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