Will Companies be ‘Safe’ and Economically ‘Sound’ After the Circuit Breaker?
The first phase after the lifting of the circuit breaker has already been in practice. Companies with fewer chances of physical contact sectors have started operations. Now, there will be a monitoring period of at least 28 days before starting the second stage of lifts.
So, what happens after the circuit breaker is over? Will offices be ‘safe’ and economically ‘sound?’ The COVID-19 has heavily affected the revenue of various firms- will they be able to run like in the previous days?
Government Has Tried its Best to Minimize the Burden on Companies
The Singapore government, in its budget 2020 has announced to spend at least $4 billion to help companies cope with the effect of the pandemic. There are various grants and reliefs, for example, the Singapore Cash Grant Rental Relief, which will help commercial tenants pay their rents. Other than that, the government will also assist with tax rebates (including corporate income tax and property tax) and salary support for companies to pay their employees.
The Singapore budget 2020 payout also consists of financing grants and schemes, support for FinTechs, Job Support Scheme, Career Support Programs, Employee training and others.
Various Rules to Keep Workplace Safe
One thing we can say for sure is that working in offices will not be the same for employees after the circuit breaker. Well, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because everyone will be more health-conscious than they were before.
Apart from company workers themselves being careful, the Ministry of Health(MOH) and Ministry of Manpower have introduced guidelines for offices. One of which includes hiring a Safe Management Officer (SMO) who will keep track of the hygiene within the premises and also ensure that every other guidelines are being followed. Employees who can work from home must continue to do so.
Other guidelines includes conducting virtual meetings where possible, compulsory wearing of masks, physical safe distancing, availability of soaps, etc.
Every office in Singapore should also adopt a SafeEntry Management System. It is a digital check-in system which stores information of everyone entering and exiting the premise, and also records contact tracing.
