COVID-19 Positive Staff: How Should We Handle Their Absences and Leave Policies?

Many staff members have tested positive for COVID during this period. Does anyone have any guidelines from ICMR/GR that state how to manage or account for their absence due to being COVID-affected? Will their leaves be deducted from their leave repositories, or would they be granted special leaves?

As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, as well as the guidelines of state government and local municipalities under the Disaster Management Act, they have restricted the attendance of employees in offices and advised employers to allow workers to work from home. When the work is conducted from home, the workers are to be marked as present, and their salary needs to be paid. If the worker has not attended work as per the roster maintained by the employer, considering the attendance of 15% to 50% as allowed by the concerned authority, the worker can be marked as absent, and their leave can be deducted. If the worker does not have leave credits, their pay can be deducted after giving them an opportunity to be heard.

Workers residing in containment zones may also be allowed to work from home, and their pay is to be provided as they are restricted by the government from moving out of their area due to it being declared a containment zone. The company needs to formulate a policy on attendance by considering the guidelines issued by the competent authorities from time to time. If a worker is deliberately not attending the job or has taken up another job during the lockdown, they may be given a show-cause notice for absenteeism, and appropriate disciplinary action, such as dismissal, can be taken following due process of law, while keeping in mind the principles of natural justice.

Managing COVID-19 Positive Cases in the Workplace

If a worker is found COVID positive, their period of admission to the hospital can be treated as medical leave. The period of home quarantine or home isolation can be treated as work from home upon the production of a medical certificate. Doctors specify the period of home quarantine to prevent the spread of infection.

Likewise, if a family member of the worker is found positive, the worker should be allowed to work from home to restrict the spread of COVID-19 and should be paid wages. However, the employer must decide considering the worker's requirement to work from home, financial condition, and compliance with the guidelines or orders issued under the Disaster Management Act. Violation of orders under the Disaster Management Act can invite prosecution.

Special Leave for COVID-19 Hospitalization or Quarantine

Some companies provide special leave to their employees in case of hospitalization or home quarantine due to COVID-19.

Thank you!

Considerations for Leave Deduction During Covid

"Will their leaves be deducted from their leave repositories?" Covid is an unforeseen disease, and neither the employee nor employer could have anticipated such a crisis. The company already has an established leave policy related to health or medical leaves. When this is considered a medical emergency, then the leaves also need to be deducted from leave repositories.

This might sound a bit harsh, but despite companies offering the flexibility of work from home to avoid the spread of the pandemic, no employees are giving any guarantee that they are staying home to be safe. People are attending functions and social gatherings. The reason WFH is provided is to stay safe from the pandemic. If they are getting affected by Covid, it means they are not following the proper guidelines.

The medical leave policy of the organization is designed for health-related issues, and even Covid is now a health-related issue. So it must be considered as sick leave and limited and counted towards the number of sick leaves as per the organization's policy, taking into consideration the guidelines provided by the health ministry and labor department.

Even I am an employee, and this answer doesn't mean to hurt any employee's feelings, especially those who have been affected by Covid.

FMLA and Indian Employment Policies

If Indian employees receive normal FMLA in line with US employment policy and social security as per US policy, then such questions do not arise at all. However, in India, it is a "No Work-No Pay" policy everywhere, and absence of more than three working days is treated as a violation of disciplinary rules.

Safeguards During the Pandemic

There are certain safeguards established by states for this pandemic time, as there was almost no public transport available to the employees, and employers did not even bother to arrange for it. Consider location-wise and territory-wise perspectives to gain a more logical view.

As per the law under Covid-19, a minimum of 50% of the salary will be credited to the employee's account if he or she is found Covid-19 positive or quarantined during the period. Otherwise, give them full salary and mark it as Special Leave under Covid-19 to pay in full.

If any staff member has tested positive for Covid during this period, then the organization can protect its employees by introducing special policies to ensure that quarantined employees are not affected by their salary during the quarantine period.