Trip.com Group has announced a childcare subsidy for its global employees. Employees who have been with the company for three years or more will receive an annual cash bonus of RMB 10,000 for each newborn child every year from the child’s first birthday until the child reaches the age of five.  The company plans to invest RMB 1 billion as subsidies to support its employees in family planning and promote working families.

James Liang, Executive Chairman of the Board of Trip.com Group, said: “Employees are our greatest asset to the company and we are committed to creating a better and more supportive working environment for them. Through the introduction of this new childcare benefit, we aim to provide financial support that will encourage our employees to start or grow their families without compromising on their professional goals and achievements.”

At Trip.com Group, building an inclusive and supportive workplace is always a top priority. This childcare subsidy is a further commitment towards the goal, empowering our employees to balance their family and professional lives.

As a family-friendly company, Trip.com Group also provides great support to working mothers and cares for pregnant employees. In recent years, Trip.com Group has implemented pro-family policies such as hybrid work and assisted reproduction benefit.

Liang, as a demographic economist, believes that family welfare policies such as inclusive childcare services, equal maternity leave for men and women, protection of the rights of single-parent families, and open access to assisted reproductive technologies, can effectively help working females reduce the time and opportunity costs of parenting and achieve a win-win situation for both family and career. In his new book “Population Strategies: How Population Affects Economy and Innovation”, published earlier this year, he analyses and shares views on policies which could encourage childbirth.

As part of its efforts to enhance employee happiness and satisfaction, the company implemented a hybrid working scheme through which employees across various markets could opt to work remotely on certain days of the week. The hybrid working model was introduced with the aims to improve employee satisfaction, contribute to family care and promote work-life balance. The global group was the first internet company in China to implement the scheme. While initially introduced in mainland China, the policy has now been adopted by Trip.com Group in 14 regions and countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Australia.