Firms asked to let employees work remotely

The district administration on Tuesday issued an advisory asking all multinational companies, corporates and IT companies to allow their employees to work from home

The district administration on Tuesday issued an advisory asking all multinational companies, corporates and IT companies to allow their employees to work from home until March 31, in the larger public interest, to prevent and control the spread of coronavirus.

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Earlier, on Sunday, the Haryana government had decided to close all government and public schools, cinema halls, night clubs and banned gatherings of more than 200 people.

The advisory read: “In compliance of The Haryana Epidemic Disease, Covid-19 Regulations 2020 dated 11.03.2020 notified under Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, all MNC, IT Firms, Industries, Corporate Offices situated in District Gurugram are advised to allow their officer/employees to work from their home till 31st March, 2020 with immediate effect to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in larger public interest.”

Amit Khatri, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, who issued the directions as the district magistrate of Gurugram said, “It is an advisory to the extent possible.”

This advisory comes a day after Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar asked private companies to allow their workers to work from home, wherever possible.

While the district administration made it clear that this advisory is not mandatory, officials of a number of companies in the city said that they have already made arrangements so that their employees can work from home.

Vinod Sood, who chairs the Haryana chapter of National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the managing director, Hughes Systique, said that over 200 IT and ITes companies based in the city are getting ready for a situation where the majority of their workers would have to operate from home.

“We have been preparing our systems and people so that they can work remotely. For every project, a few engineers have been identified and have already been asked to work from home, so that we are ready to manage a situation where 80% of the workers are not on the site,” he said.

Additionally, Sood said that they have managed to get permission from the government so that tools and equipment can be taken out from Special Economic Zones and software parks to allow workers to operate from home.

A spokesperson for another major IT player, who wished anonymity, said that there would be a few exceptions to the work-from-home rule as financial technology companies and those operating businesses on heavy equipment have to run operations from their offices. “In such circumstances, the workers have been asked to ensure social distancing and, cleaning and disinfecting of the offices is being practised,” he said.

A spokesperson for Nagarro, which has around 4,000 employees at different locations in the city, said that they have proactively been working with their project teams, since last Monday, to ensure so that the employees can be working from home for the last 10 days. “Employees have been asked to stay alert and seek HR support whenever needed. We have also advised people to maintain social distance, avoid visitors and stay safe,” the spokesperson said.