Gay live-in partners to get benefits from Thomson Reuters

MANILA, Philippines - In a historic move toward inclusion and diversity, media and information firm Thomson Reuters Manila released a new policy allowing domestic partners and same sex partners to be eligible as dependents and beneficiaries in the company's benefits.

Under its Domestic Partners Eligibility policy, single employees of the company's Manila office, whether heterosexual or homosexual, can now enrol their partners as qualified dependents of the company's healthcare plans and as beneficiaries of Thomson Reuters' group life insurance and retirement plans.

A domestic partnership, more popularly known as 'live-in,' is a committed relationship outside marriage between two heterosexual or homosexual individuals. Thomson Reuters said it has identified a criteria for eligibility and requirements for partners to avail of its benefits.

The policy is already being implemented in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the Philippines is the first Asian country to have it enforced for pilot implementation.

“To drive innovation and deliver competitive advantage, we embrace diversity of thought, style, experience, culture, race, color, gender, national origin, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, citizen status, and veteran status. We foster an inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and have the opportunity to reach their full potential,” Senior Site Officer and Head of Human Resources Peter Buenaseda said.

Thomson Reuters Manila is a member of the Financial Services Industry Philippine Pride Group, a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-oriented financial firms including HSBC, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and ANZ.