Work from home became the norm during covid as a measure to manage the spread. Most employees were managing all their office – work from home and quite enjoyed that. Getting some “Me time” and “Family time” were the reasons for a satisfying work life.
Not to trivialize the devastating impact of covid, but feeling guilty, we all will accept that Work from home was among a few upsides to the pandemic. But, not after so long, the comfort of working from home was swept away in line with the government’s order on Feb 7.
WFH was deferred after new guidelines were issued in favor of Covid’s appropriate behavior as the most effective measure for containing the spread. It made sense as not all the sectors could run smoothly on a work-from-home basis.
But the process taught us one thing for sure. It made us realize the hidden potential of WFH in many sectors and some situations. This explains why the government has issued new guidelines regarding WFH for employees for a maximum of 1 year.
Let us know what the guideline is?
According to the commerce ministry, the work from home will be extended to a maximum of 50% of employees via a uniform WFH policy across all “Special economic zones.”
Here ‘Special Economic zones’ refer to a demarcated area that allows the more liberal flow of the economy and runs on a different set of regulations.
Who all gets covered in the benefit?
They include:
1. Employees of IT/SEZ units who are temporarily incapacitated.
2. Those working offsite are also included in the list.
3. Extended to contractual employees as well
4. Flexibility granted to DC commissioner of SEZ to approve a higher number of employees, more than 50% mark when bonafide reasons are provided.
What does the transition look like?
SEZ units are set to provide equipment and secured connectivity for the WFH operations. Along with that, special care has been taken to ensure a smooth transition – allowing a 90 days transition period to seek approval.
