Employees First

Front end employees - where the rubber meets the road for every business have really faced the brunt of this lockdown & associated economic meltdown. Drivers transporting consignments, tandoor workers in restaurants, sales staff in stores & last mile delivery agents are the most affected. A level below them - the daily wagers viz. construction workers, cleaners & street vendors have already been abandoned and are wearily trudging towards their hometowns sans governmental support. In the current environment it is only natural for employees to feel concerned about the fate of their salaries. Given that the Corona issue is playing out in India since February, variable pay for the current year is at risk. The new financial year, a couple of days away may see tightening of belts – hence no increments. Some would be worried if they still have a job since their employers themselves are unsure about customer demand when the lockdown is lifted.

While the current lockdown is for 3 weeks and expected to lift by April 15, there are also fears that the pandemic could spike. In such a situation and assuming that we are locked down till end of June, almost 30 percent of retail stores would have to close down resulting in employment loss for 1.8 million staffers according to Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of Retailers Association of India (RAI).

Amidst all this uncertainty some employers stand out like beacons in the way they stand by their staff. A family owned retailer (in non-essential merchandise category) credited their employees’ March salaries the day “Janata Curfew” was announced. They’ve told all their staff to stay home but be ready to resume on short notice. Everyone's have been assured that they’ll continue receiving salaries even if the lockdown is extended. Another small entrepreneur with multiple businesses in the F&B sector is providing lodging & meals to all his staff during the lockdown. Both these businessmen admit that while it’s extremely costly for them to swing this, they are not ready to cut corners where employees are concerned. They are confident that their people will unflinchingly stand by them when called to do so. Management teams in some companies are taking a pay cut so that impact on the staff below them are minimal. A boutique IT services company has gone the extra mile of assuring its employees that their variable pay for FY ’20 is completely protected. It has advised employees who had resigned and are on notice that they were welcome to revoke their resignations in case circumstances for them had changed.

How cool is that?