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Business News/ Companies / Employers lend a hand to flood-hit employees
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Employers lend a hand to flood-hit employees

Companies are extending interest-free loans, advanced salaries and medical help to their employees in Chennai

Photo: ReutersPremium
Photo: Reuters

Bengaluru: The unprecedented rains in Chennai this month ruined the homes and property of many residents. Ahalya Natarajan’s house in Ashok Nagar is one.

“Our car and two bikes were completely submerged. Both the borewell motor and the metro water motor were submerged and have to be replaced," said Natarajan, who is a consultant at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. and has to spend about 2 lakh to tend to the various repairs.

“There are damages in the common area as well. The ground-floor houses had water until the ceiling, and so no household article could be saved. In fact, even doors and wardrobe doors have been damaged," she added.

Keeping in mind the economic strain this will place on people like Natarajan, who have to rebuild their homes and tend to various repairs, some companies like Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), Zoho Corp., Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd, and Apollo Tyres Ltd are looking to ease the burden on their Chennai-based employees.

In what was the worst rain of the century for Chennai, nearly 514 died, 50,000 stranded and 300,000 were rendered homeless, according to media reports.

M. Ravichandran, president, insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd, said the insurer has already received around 600 claims and was expecting more. The insurance industry is expecting claims of around 3,000 crore, mostly for damaged vehicles, followed by property, life and health.

IT service companies Cognizant and TCS, which have as many as 60,000 employees each in Chennai, said they will be extending interest-free loans worth 1 lakh to all employees.

TCS’s managing director and CEO N. Chandrasekaran told employees on Thursday that it will make available 1,100 crore towards interest-free cash advances in the range of 1 lakh, or up to three months of gross salary.

Cognizant has also committed 195 crore to assist with the immediate and longer-term needs of its employees and business partners and has also said the company will give out the 50% of December salary by the middle of this month, Gordon Coburn, president of Cognizant, said in an email to employees on Tuesday.

Online software services company Zoho Corp. said it will give two weeks of pay to all its 3,200 employees to help them with house repairs and expenses.

It is not just the employees, the companies too are under severe strain as continuous rain threw business out of gear. Lobby group Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) estimates the financial loss due to the rains to exceed 15,000 crore.

Most auto makers suspended operations last week and are now resuming partial production as many employees have still not returned to work.

Both Nissan India and Apollo Tyres said they would extend interest-free loans to their flood-hit employees. Companies like Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Mahindra Group said they had made available medical help for all employees.

“It is through these measures that a company can show that it is a caring employer. Employers now are more than willing to create and strengthen an emotional bond with employees. Moreover, these efforts will also go a long way in helping with engagement and retention of employees," said Nishchae Suri, partner and head, people and change advisory, KPMG India, a consultancy firm.

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Published: 11 Dec 2015, 12:50 PM IST
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