Jpmorgan, B of A plan extra pay to employees

Bank of America Corp. and Jpmorgan Chase & Co. plan to make special payments to branch, call-centre and operations employees who can’t work from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jpmorgan, t he biggest U. S. bank, will make payments of US$ 1,000 — US$ 500 next month, and the rest in May — to branch workers as well as operations and call- centre staff who make less than US$ 60,000 in total annual cash compensation. At Bank of America, eligible staff working in branches will receive a US$ 200 supplement in their biweekly paychecks.

Bank tellers, call- centre employees and support staff are part of the roughly 70 per cent of American workers who don’t have the ability to work from home. They’re among the 100 million people likely to be the last ones at work even as colleagues set up shop in their homes.

The workers “face particular challenges related to issues like child care and transportation,” Jpmorgan’s operating committee said in the memo to staff Friday. The payments are a way to “help them meet these challenges and to recognize their ongoing commitment to our customers, clients and communities.”

Jpmorgan has urged its worldwide employees who are based out of corporate offices to work remotely as part of the global effort to combat the spread of Covid-19. The bank has also temporarily shut about 1,000 of its branches and has shortened operating hours at those that remain open.

Days Off

The company also is planning to give all its workers an extra five paid days off, according to the memo. The bank has said it will also pay branch staff for their regularly scheduled shifts even if their hours are reduced or their branch is closed.

At Bank of America, workers at call centres and in operations who continue going into the office will receive two times the hourly base pay for overtime, compared with the normal time and a half, according to a company memo.

Bank of America branch hours will be shortened to 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Monday through Friday, with regular hours on Saturdays. Branch staff will continue to be paid for their weekly schedules even if hours are reduced.

Citigroup Inc. has told employees that any rolledover vacation days from 2019 can now be used through the end of the year, replacing an earlier end- of- the- month deadline, a spokeswoman said. The lender has also told workers that extra sick days during the pandemic won’t count toward paid time off.

Vulnerable Populations

The company has asked employees who are part of vulnerable populations — such as older workers and those who are pregnant — to stay home, with pay continuing even if their jobs can’t be done from outside the office.