Vaccine allowance of Rs 5,000 for each employee of Roche Pharma India

Each employee at Roche Pharma India will receive a one-time vaccine allowance of Rs 5,000 to cover the vaccination of self and dependents. This allowance will be part of their May salary, and it is left to the employee to use or not use it for vaccination. The Company does not demand any receipt or proof of vaccination from the employees. Additionally, in case an employee’s hospitalisation bills exceed the existing upper limit of INR 800,000 (5 lakh base cover + 3 lakh COVID cover), Roche Pharma India will provide up to Rs 3 lakh additional assistance. This takes the coverage value to Rs 11,00,000. This additional cover of will only be available for two months, that is, until June 29.

Ruchi Parulekar, CHRO, Roche Pharma India, shares that the Company continuously endeavours to “protect our employees and their families’ mental and physical health as India continues to see a massive spike in COVID-19 cases during its second wave. We’ve established an internal task force that facilitates active communication with those in need to ensure prompt assistance.”

The pharmaceutical firm has partnered with a tele-consultation service provider to ensure that staff members have easy access to a physician to seek any advice or clarification regarding COVID and its management, if required. This is a free service for employees and their immediate family members.

The Company’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) comprising counselling sessions and self-help material on dealing with uncertainty, anxiety and other topics have been ensuring the mental well-being of the staff.

A six-person team consisting of employees is always available to provide information and assistance to colleagues in the event of a COVID-related emergency.

Like many other corporates, Roche Pharma is also offering unlimited trust-based sick leaves to its employees.