FRC issues recommendations for businesses and employers

The Financial Regulatory Commission has compiled recommendation for businesses, financial institutions and employers on responding to COVID-19.

The recommendation was based on updated strategies and recommendations of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard Business Review.

The commission underlined that organizations that handle cash are at high risk and advised employers to conduct daily health checks, follow the National Center for Communicable Diseases’ recommendations against COVID-19, and distribute necessary personal hygiene products (hand sanitizers, face masks and gloves etc.) to employees. It also recommended disinfecting cash using UVC technology.

Here are the recommendations:

Detailed planning of business activities

• Prepare and appoint staff in charge of developing and implementing preparedness and response plans, test the plan and continue to improve and enforce it. Ensuring staff salaries and benefits are not disrupted is highly advised.

• Update the organization’s financial plan by forecasting the demand for each type of product or service and delivery channel in order to ensure the continuity of services provided to customers and clients.

• Identify the most vulnerable products, services and business activities during the pandemic; assess their vulnerabilities; develop and implement risk mitigation plans; and conduct business activities accordingly. Also, identify customers who are failing and facing interrupted source of income due to the spread of communicable diseases and quarantine regimes, and pay attention to the policy of products and services delivered to them.

• Get quick and regular updates on the spread of the pandemic, its social and economic damage, and decisions made by government authorities from official sources, and plan business activities.

• Establish communication infrastructure in case of emergency, register necessary information and update it regularly.

Ensuring safety of customers and employees

• Postpone public events, meetings and workshops. Opt to conduct teleconferences, allow employees to work remotely, make working hours flexible and, if necessary, provide assistance in the form of salaries and cash benefits.

• Provide opportunities to communicate remotely with customers, investors and clients using the internet and mobile phones; improve the flow of operational information when communicating remotely; and provide regular information to customers.

• Keep employees away from crowded and high-risk areas, provide private transportation for employees who travel via public transportation, and provide temporary leave for employees from high-risk areas.

• Develop an action plan for prompt action in the event of signs of illness or risky situations in the workplace.

• Maintain a healthy work environment and provide employees with necessary disinfectants, masks and accurate information on a regular basis. Employers should deliver timely medical and other relevant instructions and recommendations to employees swiftly, and pay attention to their mental health.

• Identify the needs and requirements of employees, clients and customers, and ensure that the resources they need are not disrupted.

• Avoid cash transactions.

Implementing measures aimed at the well-being of the public and recognizing social responsibility

• Implement measures aimed at the well-being of the public, share good practices and encourage people to recognize their social responsibility.

• Closely cooperate with government authorities and decision-making bodies, provide information promptly and accurately, and make socially responsible effort in recognition of the importance of the participation of all parties in overcoming difficulties.

• Provide assistance to organizations and employees working to reduce the risk of COVID-19 and its adverse effects, provide financial and other forms of assistance within the framework of social responsibility, and provide them with necessary services in a timely manner.