As a precautionary measure to deal with the Coronavirus scare, various start-ups have announced work from home option for their employees in the country.
After three cases of techies been tested positive for Coronavirus in Bengaluru so far, companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, PhonePe, Ola and Uber, among others have recommended their staff to work from home to tackle the problem.
Amazon India has recommended its employees (nearly 50,000) in India to work from home during the entire month of March, the company told this publication.
This is in line with its global policy, which also states that employees who are quarantined will be paid two weeks of salary. Amazon has also created a $25 million global fund to support its delivery partners, contractual employees, said the e-commerce giant.
“We continue to work closely with public and private medical experts to ensure we are taking the right precautions as the situation continues to evolve. As a result, we are now recommending that all of our employees globally can continue working from home till March end,” said Amazon India. Flipkart has also announced work from home for nearly 10,000 employees at its corporate office in Bengaluru for the next three days, said a company spokesperson.
The e-tailer has a flexible work from home policy and the same applies across all departments, the spokesperson said. Flipkart said the delivery partners who are unwell have been advised to rest while those who are working have been given sanitizers. The e-commerce firm said it will continue the operations throughout the crisis.
“The company has issued a ban on all non-essential domestic and international business travel and we are encouraging employees who may have returned from abroad to work from home for 14 days. In light of primary schools in Bengaluru declaring holidays over the directive of the government, we are encouraging parents with young children to work remotely to balance their commitments. We are promoting the use of video-conferences for meetings, including job interviews, and are temporarily avoiding events and training programs that require large gatherings as a precautionary measure,” Flipkart said.
Further, Paytm with a payroll of over 15,000 said it is following the global norm of allowing employees to work from home as a safety measure. Its offices are being currently sanitized. Ride-hailing firm Ola said those who are symptomatic have been advised to work from home and staff can get all possible support through the doctor-on-call app in partnership with MFine.
Co-working major WeWork said all its locations are subject to increased daytime cleaning and regular sanitation of common touchpoints. “We are also ensuring that there is sufficient stock levels of soap and dispensers remain filled,” it said. WeWork also has a mandatory 14-day “work from home” policy for any employee recently returning from high-risk regions, as well as those who exhibit flu-like symptoms.
Safety measures
Paytm with a payroll of more than 15,000 said it is following the global norm of allowing employees to work from home as a safety measure. Its offices are currently being sanitized. Ola said those employees, who are symptomatic, have been advised to work from home