15 April, 2020
On 3 April 2020, the Singapore government announced the strictest measures to-date to limit the spread of COVID-19. Among these measures are the mandatory suspension of all businesses, with the exception of "Essential Services" and their related supply chains, unless these businesses can be conducted through telecommuting.
With Work-from-Home arrangements – previously seen as an employee benefit – now being imperative, it is no longer optional for companies to have a formal Work-from-Home policy addressing the HR issues arising from a short-medium term employment arrangement with unprecedented levels of flexibility:
- Working hours (does the usual nine-to-five still apply?)
- Monitoring and managing tardiness, absenteeism and low productivity (is there a way for employees to "clock-in"?)
- Monitoring employee's "footprints" and behaviour when using personal devices from home
- Managing poor performance (can assessment take place effectively without face-to-face interaction?)
- Enhanced IT and data security (can the risk of inadvertent disclosure of information in a private home setting be completely eliminated?)
- The need, and possibly, obligation to provide employees with computer and phone devices and co-pay for internet connectivity
- Helping employees with an un-conducive home environment cope
- The obligation of an employer to ensure the safety of the home as a workplace.
Some of these issues require much thinking. While employers are arguably entitled to expect the same level of employee performance and commitment wherever the work is performed, there should be a clear understanding on the dos and don'ts of working from home and mutual expectations, in order to avoid tricky issues upon termination.
For further information, please contact:
Goh Seow Hui, Partner, Bird & Bird
seowhui.goh@twobirds.com
