April 20, 2021

Dear All,

As you are aware the second wave of COVID-19 is hitting hard and the count of positive cases is scaling new heights every day across the country. Many state governments are announcing lockdown-type restrictions to control the spread of the Coronavirus. Maharashtra, in particular, has been badly affected and the state government has announced a mini lockdown in the state for 15 days with effect from 8.00pm on April 14 till 7.00am on May 1 of 2021. Section 144 has been imposed in the state and no one is allowed to move in public places without a valid reason. All establishments, public places, activities and services are to remain closed. Only services and activities mentioned under “Essential Services” have been exempted. Please check out the prevailing local regulations at your office/branch location and act accordingly.

Sharekhan under “Essential Services” category

As per the latest clarification from the Maharashtra state government dated April 7, 2021, Sharekhan is now re-categorised under “Essential Services” and allowed to remain open on all weekdays only from 7.00am to 8.00pm subject to all personnel attending office get vaccinated at the earliest, and maintain all COVID-19 protocols and social distancing parameters.

Be that as it may, the present situation calls for an urgent re-assessment of the workforce working from the head office and branch network locations currently. We are witnessing a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases amongst our employees and under the circumstances, it is advisable to keep the work-from-office workforce to a minimum and allow only the critical staff to work from the office locations. All departments and branches are advised to work in split team mode.

New rules to be followed with immediate effect until further notice

1. Only critical head office staff will be allowed to work from office. All branches throughout India are advised to respect the local regulations and directives, and work in split team mode while allowing only the critical employees to work from office.
2. Only those employees who can drive their own conveyance (car, scooter or motorcycle) or those who are based in Mumbai and can be picked up by the transport service organised by the Administration team will be allowed to work from office. No employee who needs to travel by public transport, such as local trains, BEST buses, Ola/Uber cabs, kalipeeli taxis and autorickshaws, will be allowed to work from office. For cities other than Mumbai, the cluster heads should take a call on the minimum number of employees to be allowed in offices and the mode of transport to be used depending on the local regulations in effect at each location.
3. All COVID-19 protocols of social distancing, wearing masks, sanitisation etc to be mandatorily maintained at all times.
4. Employees staying near the office locations will be given preference for working from office or a branch.
5. Managers are advised to keep a regular check on the health of each of their team members and inform the Human Resources team in case anybody mentions experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.
6. In case any staff working from office/branch is found to be COVID-19 positive, all the employees who were present along with him/her in the office/branch will need to be home quarantined. There are no exceptions to this rule; hence, please ensure you work in the “split team” mode.

Please write to us at hr@sharekhan.com in case you need any clarity on this.

Like always, we rely on your co-operation and urgent action on this matter.

If you are working from home, continue to follow all COVID-19 and social distancing protocols.

Take extra care and be safe.

Thanks.
Rajesh Shetty
CHRO