India

India: Government to Encourage the practice of Work from Home for Nursing Mothers

Jun 29 2021

The Central Government of India issued an advisory on 1 June 2021 to all State Governments and Union Territories, to encourage the practice of work-from-home for nursing mothers (wherever the nature of work allows them to do so) for a period of at least 1 (one) year from the date of birth of the child, in accordance with section 5(5) of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (” MB Act”), to protect the mother and the child from getting infected with COVID-19, and thereby also encouraging female employees to remain in employment.

The MB Act regulates the employment of women in establishments for a certain period before and after childbirth and provides maternity benefits and other benefits to pregnant women and nursing mothers. Section 5(5) of the MB Act states that where the nature of work assigned to a woman is of such that she may be able to perform those job functions from home, the employer may allow the female employee to work from home after availing the maternity benefit for such period, and on such conditions, as the employer and the employee may mutually agree.

Under the MB Act, the respective State Governments have been designated as the ‘Appropriate Government’ for the implementation of the law. Therefore, the Central Government has requested that the State Governments create awareness about Section 5 (5) of the MB Act.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel

Please note that the aforesaid press release is only an advisory and will be effective as and when implemented by respective State Governments and Union Territories.

Indian Government allows COVID-19 Vaccinations at the Workplace

Apr 30 2021

In order to make the COVID-19 vaccination drive more accessible, quality focused and citizen centric, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (“Ministry”), from 11 April 2021, has allowed COVID-19 vaccination sessions at workplaces (both public and private) which are having about 100 eligible and willing beneficiaries. The Ministry said that vaccination sessions may be organised at workplaces by identifying such workplaces with an existing COVID-19 vaccination centre (“CVC”). The Health Ministry has also prepared guidelines to organise these sessions.

Identification of workplaces:

The District Task Force (“DTF”) chaired by District Magistrate and Urban Task Force (“UTF”) chaired by Municipal Commissioner will identify such government and private workplaces after due deliberations with relevant employers. Workplace management will designate one of their senior employees to work as ‘Nodal Officer’ to coordinate with district health authorities/ private CVCs and support vaccination related activities. The Nodal Officer will oversee and facilitate all aspects of vaccination at workplace like registration of beneficiaries, availability of physical and IT infrastructure and oversight to vaccination etc.

Identification of eligible and willing beneficiaries:

Employees aged 45 years or more will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at workplaces. Such employees must be registered on the Co-WIN portal (i.e., the government portal wherein a beneficiary is required to register himself or herself for vaccination) (“Portal”) prior to vaccination.

Registration of workplaces as CVC on Co-Win portal:

Once identified, all such workplaces vaccination centers will be registered on the Portal as Government or Private CVC at workplace (“Workplace CVC”). DTF / UTF will ensure availability of three rooms as waiting, vaccination and observation rooms at such Workplace CVCs. These rooms should be part of the permanent structure of the workplace and temporary tent like structure should not be used.

Linkage of the workplace CVC with public and private CVCs:

Every Workplace CVC will be identified to an existing and nearest CVC in the government and private medical facility, respectively. The designated government and private CVC to whom the Workplace CVC has been identified will be responsible for deployment of vaccination teams at such Workplace CVCs. For optimal utilisation of resources, vaccination sessions will be planned at a Workplace CVC once a minimum of 50 beneficiaries have registered themselves for vaccination. The schedule of vaccination session can be made up to 15 days in advance and intimated to such workplaces by the concerned CVC.

Engaging health infrastructure and health care workers of workplace CVCs:

Some of the workplaces may have health infrastructure in form of hospitals, health clinics, nursing centers, etc. This infrastructure may be utilised to set-up vaccination sites in case sufficient space for waiting, vaccination and observation rooms are available. The health care workers of this health infrastructure of the Workplace CVCs may be deployed for the COVID-19 vaccination activities. Adequate training of such health workers will be ensured.

Deployment of vaccination team:

District health authorities will normally deploy the vaccination team at Workplace CVC (government). Private CVCs will deploy the vaccination team at Workplace CVC (private entities).

Financial guidelines:

COVID-19 vaccination at Workplace CVC (government owned or controlled) organised by district health authorities will be free of cost. COVID-19 vaccination organised by private Workplace CVC would be on a charge basis at the same rate as the vaccine is available to private CVCs.

COVID-19 Vaccination in India – Employers’ Frequently Asked Questions

Feb 08 2021

Which are the COVID-19 vaccines that have been currently approved by the Indian Government?

The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI), the national level drug regulator, so far, has granted approval to two vaccines for ‘restricted use in an emergency situation’. The two vaccines are: (1) COVISHIELD (developed by Oxford – AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India) and (2) COVAXIN (developed by Bharat Biotech).

Will the COVID-19 vaccines be provided to everyone simultaneously?

The Indian Government is carrying out the COVID-19 vaccination drive in a phased manner. The COVID-19 vaccines will not be administered to everyone simultaneously. As per the Operational Guidelines issued (available on www.mohfw.gov.in), the vaccine will first be given to the following priority groups: (i) healthcare and frontline workers; (ii) those about 50 years of age; and (iii) those below 50 years of age with comorbidities.

What is the CoWIN platform?

The COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (“CoWIN”) system is a digital platform which is intended to help the Indian Government in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the COVID-19 vaccination drive in India. At present, the CoWIN platform is being used by the Government and it has not yet been fully extended to the general public. However, it appears that the public may be allowed to self-register themselves on the CoWIN portal (after submitting requisite identification proof) and access limited features.

Is the vaccine mandatory?

No, the vaccine has not been made mandatory by the Government of India.

What is the involvement of the private sector at present?

Currently, the private sector is not involved in the vaccination drive. The entire process (including costs and manner of administration) is entirely controlled by the Government – however, this might change once the vaccines are made available to the general public.

Can an employer make it mandatory for employees to get vaccinated?

No. Given that the vaccination is voluntary and has not been made mandatory under law, an employer cannot insist that its employees undergo vaccination as a condition of continued employment.

Can an employer instruct employees to provide proof of vaccination?

Yes, an employer can require its employees to submit proof that he/she has been vaccinated. Any such vaccination related data will qualify as ‘sensitive personal data or information’ under India’s extant data protection laws and an employer collecting, storing or processing this data will be required to comply with all applicable data protection legislation.

Is an employer required to grant paid leave to employees who are scheduled to be vaccinated?

Currently, there is no specific Government notification or order in this regard. However, market practice may dictate that employers start providing paid leave to employees on the days they are scheduled to be vaccinated in lieu of sufficient proof of vaccination.

If pursuant to an employer’s encouragement, an employee takes the vaccine and suffers adverse effects, will the employer be held liable?

It is unlikely that an employer will be held liable as long as the employer makes it clear that the vaccination is voluntary and the employer does not provide any misleading information to the employees.

Can an employer dismiss an employee if the employee refuses to take the vaccination?

It is highly unlikely that such a dismissal will be upheld by a court if the sole reason to dismiss an employee has been the employee’s refusal to take the vaccination.

Can the employer refuse ofﬁce access to employees who do not take the vaccine?

Yes, employers can refuse access to physical premises to any employee(s) they deem fit as long as such denial of access does not impede in the discharge of the employee’s formal duties and obligations.

Can the employer ask employees who have not been vaccinated to sit in a designated area of the ofﬁce?

Yes, this is possible. However, employers must ensure appropriate communication and the designated areas must satisfy all safety protocols and requirements.

For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in India, please contact Avik Biswas (Partner) of IndusLaw at avik.biswas@induslaw.com or visit www.induslaw.com.

For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.

India: Order obliging Employers to Pay Wages during COVID-19 Lockdown is Withdrawn

Jun 26 2020

In order to combat the COVID-19 crisis, the Central Government of India and various State Governments have been declaring lockdowns in India for the past 3 months, subject to certain terms and conditions. The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued an advisory in the month of March 2020, wherein all employers were advised to not terminate the services of its employees or reduce the wages of such employees during the lockdown period. It was further stated under this advisory, that if a place of employment is non-operational on account of COVID-19, the employees in such affected establishments will be considered to be on duty for the non-operational period.

Further, on 29 March 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs passed an order on account of which employers were required to pay wages to employees on time and without any deduction, during the lockdown period, and the violation of this order attracted criminal sanctions. This order sparked a lot of debate within the country, as, due to loss of revenue on account of the lockdown, most employers were not in a position to pay wages to its employees. However, this order has ceased to exist with effect from 18 May 2020.

This order had also been challenged before the Supreme Court of India, wherein after several rounds of hearings, the Supreme Court has directed employers to negotiate terms and enter into a settlement with its employees with respect to payment of wages during the lockdown period. The final order is likely to be passed by the Supreme Court of India in July 2020.

For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.

India: Guidelines for Restarting Media and Entertainment Industry

Jun 04 2020

The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) led the Government of India to impose a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to control the spread of the pandemic. The lockdown which began on March 25, 2020, deeply impacted the media and entertainment industry, especially with the suspension of all production work. As the Central and State Governments ease the lockdown in a phased manner, the Government of Maharashtra has, on the request of various stakeholders, allowed shooting of content for films, television and ‘Over-the-Top’ platforms and through a government resolution dated May 30, 2020 issued the ‘Guiding Principles to restart Media Entertainment Industry in Maharashtra’ (the “Guidelines”).

All production related activities are permitted to be carried on outside containment zones and only within the daily permissible timings prescribed by the Government. The Guidelines are required to be adhered to strictly and any failure to comply will lead to suspension of activities.

To download the guideline, click here.

For more information please contact Joseph Granato, Communications Manager at L&E Global at joseph.granato@leglobal.org.