It has been more than two years since the crisis began, the spread of the Covid-19 has raised many issues for employers in Macau. Like the counterpart impacted by pandemic worldwide, local enterprises and financial industry, like banking and insurance companies, have been forced to consider how to continue risk and claims management services for vulnerable clients in the current environment. It is of utmost importance for us to maintain transparency and communications with customers and carriers. We must be able to address and deliver the most efficient services possible as the needs of their customers evolve. In Macau, many employers are either instructing employees to work from home (WFH) or offering this as an option along with flexible working hours. As we all know, Employees Compensation Insurance (ECI) usually covers the employer’s place of work and so would not automatically cover work from home arrangements. The idea behind was the employers have no control over the working conditions of employees at home and so, in theory, their risk exposure is comparatively higher.
Current Macau Employees Compensation Insurance Cover
The Decree-Law No. 40/95/M – Macau Employee Compensation Insurance Ordinance had indicated that any loss or injury resulting from occupational accidents and occupational diseases are entitled to compensation. Occupational accident means an accident occurring at the place of work and during the normal working hours from which directly or indirectly result in injuries, functional disorder or disease causing the death, or temporary or permanent reduction of working or earning capacity. Related with any suffer from Covid-19 Pneumonia, the victims need to prove if the injury was arising out of and in the course of his employment.
New Way of Working – Work From Home
As government sought to contain the virus with social distancing measures, daily routines were restricted and working lives were working upside down. Employees are required to work from home (WFH). It therefore “Work From Home Extension Clause” need to be applied at least to provide protection for the employees during his work at home. This extension is applicable to employees performing their respective indoor managerial or clerical work only within the working hours, i.e. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. For senior management, it covers as specified in the employment contract and/or company policy and/or “Work From Home” guideline. Coverage will not be operative during any kinds of holidays and leaves, including but not limited to public holidays, annual leave, no-pay leave, except for duties carried out during such period as specifically requested/arranged by the employer.
Change and Challenges
Change can be for good, but it also presents challenges.
Working from home is not new but it is taking place on an unprecedented scale in Macau during the COVID-19 outbreak. Many companies have been forced to embrace work-from-home solutions.
The traditional work environment has fragmented into different types of workspaces, with employees now digitally connected by video and teleconferencing applications. The requirement of “Work From Home” policy has created the perfect moment for the industry to prove its capability of pivoting from conventional to digital systems. It affects the whole financial industries like banking and insurance, which should be ready to go fully digital, remote and paperless. In the meantime, Insurers need to develop a COVID-19 response plan for which should be able to offer added value and assistance to clients for overcoming the current situation. It would include a checklist covering guidance around business continuity, supply chain management, communication, coverage and claims considerations. Many things are changing but it also creates challenges. We need to consider deeply how to protect employee, corporate and customer data. Besides that, it can also create potentially for people to feel isolated socially and professionally, disconnected from colleagues and the company itself, particularly in organizations. How to make it balance will also be the most challenging topics for all of us?
To sum it up, working from home will be the future practice of most of different industries. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, it may remain a part of every employee’s working lifestyle and expectations. We need to adapt it and follow the continuous changing of the working environment. The question is not whether work from home is possible but what is needed to make it possible.
Prepared by
Ivan Cheung Ming Fai
President of Macau Insurance Industry Professionals Association (MIIPA)
July 4, 2022
Undated file photo of Ivan Cheung Ming Fai, president of the Macau Insurance Industry Professionals Association (MIIPA)
