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The Centre is looking at framing fresh work-from-home (WFH) rules and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for SEZs that would balance the need of units, especially IT companies, for more flexibility in allowing their employees to chose between workplace and home while ensuring that infrastructure created by developers is put to adequate use, official sources said.
In a tight spot
“Many SEZ units, especially IT companies, allowed their workforce to operate from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. It worked well for them. Now they find it difficult to get employees back to office and want rules that would enable them to allow WFH for a larger workforce (than permitted under present rules) and for a much longer time,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.
SEZ developers are, however, not in favour of WFH as they are apprehensive about losing customers for the office space they have created, the source added. Both developers and units highlighted their concerns in a meeting called by the Commerce Ministry earlier this month. “Units and developers have also been asked to work it out between themselves and look for a solution,” the source said.
In July this year, the government notified WFH rules across all SEZs, providing validity to the extension of WFH for certain categories of employees, including those working in IT/ITES units for a one year period, but up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total employees. It said that a higher ceiling could be allowed only with special permission.
“The government cannot allow WFH for 100 per cent employees in perpetuity. But it has to perhaps allow more than 50 per cent to continue WFH and also not demand the names of workers so that there is more flexibility in terms of workers availing WFH,” an industry source said.
“The flexibility of alternate use should also be enabled for SEZ developers in the form of partial debonding/denotification of units/floor of such office spaces so that developers can put these vacant spaces to DTA (non-SEZ) use,” suggested Alok Chaturvedi, Director General, EPC for EOUs and SEZs.
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