Shiona Watson, PepsiCo's Sydney-based senior human resources manager, said the global soft drink manufacturer wanted its workers to take off on days that are "culturally relevant" to them.
"As part of PepsiCo's ongoing initiative to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace, we introduced a concept last year called 'floating cultural holidays,'" said Simone Rayner, a PepsiCo spokeswoman.
The policy change also affords Chinese workers the chance take off on holidays relevant to their culture. "For example, we have employees who have swapped Labour Day or the Melbourne Cup holiday for Eid or Chinese New year," the spokeswoman said. "We have kept some days in the calendar that can't be swapped out such as Christmas, Easter and ANZAC Day."