Many staff have tested positive for Covid during this period. Does anyone have any guidelines from ICMR/GR which state how to manage or account for their absence due to being Covid-affected? Will their leaves be deducted from their leave repositories? Would they be granted special leaves?
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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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.
From India, Pune
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26Workers 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.
From India, Pune
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If the worker is found COVID positive, his period of admission to the hospital can be treated as medical leave, and the period of home quarantine or home isolation can be treated as work from home upon the production of a medical certificate. The doctors are specifying the period of home quarantine to avoid the spread of infection.
Likewise, if a family member of the worker is found positive, the worker needs to be allowed to work from home to restrict the spread of Covid-19 and should be paid wages. However, the employer has to make a decision considering the worker's requirement to work from home, financial condition, as well as compliance with the guidelines or orders issued under the Disaster Management Act. Violation of orders under the Disaster Management Act can invite prosecution.
From India, Pune
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Likewise, if a family member of the worker is found positive, the worker needs to be allowed to work from home to restrict the spread of Covid-19 and should be paid wages. However, the employer has to make a decision considering the worker's requirement to work from home, financial condition, as well as compliance with the guidelines or orders issued under the Disaster Management Act. Violation of orders under the Disaster Management Act can invite prosecution.
From India, Pune
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Some of the company provide SPECIAL LEAVE to their employees in case of hospitalization / Home Quarantine due to COVID 19.
From India , Gohana
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From India , Gohana
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Nothing more to say as SSushr told. As even government departments closed and followed COVID norms by downloading from Google, what is the fun of this query, sir? Not only your company, the entire world faced the absence of employees and stopped productivity.
Don't isolate yourself from the realities in your surroundings. Please don't harass your employees with an exclusive nature of thought. Go with the wind to a safe land in a safe zone.
From India, Nellore
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Don't isolate yourself from the realities in your surroundings. Please don't harass your employees with an exclusive nature of thought. Go with the wind to a safe land in a safe zone.
From India, Nellore
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This is not an answer but my thought...
"Will their leaves be deducted from their leave repositories"... Covid is an unforeseen disease and neither the employee nor employer would have had an idea that such a crisis would occur. The company already has established a leave policy related to health or medical leaves, and 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 the companies giving 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 roaming around for attending functions, social gatherings. The reason WFH is provided is to stay safe from the pandemic. And despite that, if they are getting affected with 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 (in fact, 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.
From United States, Ashburn
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"Will their leaves be deducted from their leave repositories"... Covid is an unforeseen disease and neither the employee nor employer would have had an idea that such a crisis would occur. The company already has established a leave policy related to health or medical leaves, and 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 the companies giving 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 roaming around for attending functions, social gatherings. The reason WFH is provided is to stay safe from the pandemic. And despite that, if they are getting affected with 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 (in fact, 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.
From United States, Ashburn
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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