Despite the majority being double-vaccinated, sectors like pharma, manufacturing, banking, ecommerce and real estate which still have a sizeable chunk of essential employees coming into office, on shop floors or client sites, are stepping up testing, surveillance and Covid protocols, sponsoring tests for families where a person is showing symptoms and carrying out contact tracing for positive cases.
Companies such as
, , , , JLL India, Licious, Pfizer, Fortis, Axis Bank, are among those following such measures stringently.
Besides curtailing outstation travel, many companies have forbidden employees from using public transportation and are providing their own sanitised vehicles instead. Some are insisting on employees coming back from leave furnishing negative RT PCR reports.
This is even as the current wave sweeping through India is seeing thousands of people testing positive. “While the cases are generally milder than those in the second wave, we are ensuring the situation is treated with the same seriousness and stringency,” says Yashwant Mahadik, global HR president at Lupin.
The drugmaker has significantly ramped up testing, discouraged employees from taking public transport and has stringent contact tracing mechanisms in place.
Besides ensuring double-vaccination for employees and families, Pfizer has rolled out pneumococcal and flu vaccination programs to address risks of pneumonia and respiratory infections due to other bacterial and viral infections. Amongst other measures, there is a 24*7 Covid task force on call, said Shilpi Singh, director, people experience. Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals has implemented an AI-enabled contact tracing app that every employee – corporate or contract – is required to download on their phones.
“If anyone shows symptoms, they are immediately tested at the company’s expense, and all employees they have come in contact with are also isolated and placed on paid leave until they receive negative reports,” said Satyajit Mohanty, vice-president, HR.
At JLL India, there has been a focus to encourage remote working for employees wherever the role permits and have adequate safety measures where remote working is difficult. “We recommend that RTPCR self-testing be done as per the doctor’s recommendation. Some client sites require the tests to be carried out on a weekly/fortnightly basis,” said Meenakshi Cornelius, head, HR, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Most companies including JLL have tie-ups with multiple organisations that provide 24/7 medical consultation services.
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