Ever since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic made news, the government started taking various initiatives, measures and making law amendments to control further spread. Talking about the corporate sector, the situation was quite alarming and took the employers/ recruiters by storm. So, as soon as the severity of the condition was realized, organizations stood up to protect their businesses and resources by taking the major step of implementing the policy – Work From Home in COVID 19.
The nationwide lockdown imposed on the Indian citizens by the government was the best decision that could have been taken to slow down the virus transfer by leaps and bounds. However, sitting at homes for the sake of health and safety had the danger of taking a toll on the employment source of millions of people and an adverse impact on businesses. To fight this, the government rolled out some new employment laws so that the jobs and livelihood of people was not compromised.
Let’s find out the latest introductions in employment laws that are now practised in corporate establishments to balance the human resources and financial resources simultaneously in these tough times:
The Corporate Offices Allowed To Operate During The Lockdown Period
Almost all the business enterprises and companies categorized as essential services will remain functional throughout the course of lockdown. The establishments running for provision and delivery of necessary and essential goods will continue to be open during the COVID-19 lockdown as per the guidelines provided by respective state governments or regulatory bodies.
The Applicability of Work From Home (WFH) Policy or Telecommuting
On-premise operation of a company is only permitted if it lies under the category of ‘essential goods and services’. The functioning organization must abide by all the health and safety standards as implemented by the Government of India. The concerned employees must be in possession of required passes and permission letters to travel to and from their respective homes and workplaces. Only the working professionals whose nature of work allows them to travel should be made to work during this time.
The Work And Leave Policies For COVID-19 Infected Employees
As notified by a few state governments, the infected employees are given 28 days of paid leaves by their employers. Extreme sympathy and sensitivity is shown to the ones who are suspected with symptoms of the coronavirus disease. Work from home in COVID-19 is playing the role of another mega-fighter to overcome the losses of this menace. Employees can report and submit their deliverables from home using a laptop/ desktop and other required equipment. Casual and sick leaves can be granted to the employees as usual.
The Salary/ Payment Related Concerns During The Lockdown Period
For the healthy employees who have been prepared by their employers to work from home by providing necessary resources beforehand are tracked everyday. The working hours and deliverables are pre-assigned and checked by the reporting managers. As per the record of live status, the attendance of the employees is marked and they are paid accordingly. For the ones under inspection, 14-20 days of quarantine is permitted with full-time salary payment. And the employees who have been found infected with the virus are paid out for 28 days straight. These laws have slight variations depending upon the notices rolled out by the respective state governments.
The Necessary Changes In Working Hours And Wages To Reduce The Impact
This is a completely organization-specific step taken against the COVID-19 pandemic. The employers can reduce the wages as per the reduced working hours depending upon the available resources and applicable laws. Similarly, the employers can also increase the work hours and wages based on the requirement and the need of the hour. Incentives, promotions and appraisals can be stopped by the employers to control the financial stability.
Thus, the contagious coronavirus disease has undoubtedly created havoc not only in the country, but in the entire world. But, these smart modifications in employment laws and multiple remedial initiatives taken in this direction continuously prove to be beneficial for all.
