RIL, SBI, Borosil announce bonus, other measures to boost employees’ morale

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As India grapples with the unprecedented second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, select Indian companies, including the likes of Reliance Industries and State Bank of India, have come forward to support their employees amid the ongoing second wave of coronavirus pandemic. The country on May 4 recorded over 3.57 lakh new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till 8 am, taking the total infections past the 2 crore mark.

Here’s how Indian companies are trying to boost morale of their employees in difficult times:

Bonus

Reliance Industries has rolled out bonus/variable payout to its over 2 lakh employees for fiscal 2021.

“We continue to experience unprecedented challenges on account of Covid-19 across India. Amidst this, the safety and well-being of you and your family remain our topmost priority. Towards this we have significantly enhanced our efforts and exerted our full energies to ensure that timely help is made available to each and every one of you,” RIL told employees.

The announcement came after the company on April 30 posted 108% year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 13,227 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

PwC India in March had announced a one-time bonus for its 15,000 employees as a token of appreciation for the employees’ work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The bonus was equivalent to an employee’s two-week pay.

Support to family members

Borosil Renewables, the sole domestic manufacturer of solar panel glass, has announced that in the event of any of their employee losing their life due to Covid-19, his or her family will continue to receive the salary for the next two years. The company said that it will also pay for the education of the employee’s children.

In a LinkedIn Post, Shreevar Kheruka, Managing Director at Borosil Ltd, said, “We have lost 4 employees to this dreadful pandemic. Their names are Santosh Chalke, Vijay Shirsath, Tushar Panchal and Shiv Shankar Bisht. The sadness for these losses is indescribable.”

“In order to reassure our employees, we have announced that the family of any employee of Borosil Ltd. and Borosil Renewable Ltd. and their subsidiaries will be given 2 years of salary in the event of an unfortunate demise owing to Covid 19. In addition to this, the education of the children of the employee will be paid till graduation in India,” he added.

Four-Day week

Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy is offering a 4 day work week to its employees for the month of May 2021, according to an internal e-mail sent to them. These times can be extremely stressful both mentally and physically whether or not you are affected by COVID-19 directly/ indirectly, the e-mail by company’s HR head Girish Menon said.

Vaccination and treatment

Sonalika Tractors: Few other companies have also joined the league and decided to vaccinate their employees. Alike last year when the first Covid-19 pandemic wave hit the country, Sonalika Tractors has been at the forefront in supporting its employees, channel partners and its staff to remain fully secured from the pandemic in 2021. The company has already taken full responsibility to arrange and bear expenses related to the Covid-19 vaccination of its entire workforce.

Hindustan Unilever: Likewise, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever has announced it will cover around 3 lakh people, which include not only its employees and their families, but also those in its extended ecosystem.

State Bank of India: Country’s biggest lender State Bank of India has partnered with a number of hospitals to provide vaccinations to its staff and their related family members, according to reports.