As the Covid-19 infections peak in the country, HEINEKEN South Africa is extending Covid-19 related support to the families of more than 950 staff members.
The brewer is providing family care packs that include facemasks, sanitisers and educational material in an effort to help its employees and their families better protect themselves during the pandemic.
Employees can choose to have the family care pack delivered to their door (to limit movement) or collect it at work in a safe and contactless manner.
Like many companies and as is the trend in the country, HEINEKEN SA expects to see an increase in Covid-19 infections within its employee population and has taken measures to slow down, as far as possible, the spread of the virus. This includes expanding its Work From Home Policy to more employees, providing personal protective equipment (each staff member has received four facemasks, with those working in the field receiving sanitiser), and ensuring that all safety protocols are observed in the workplace, including sanitising the work space at least three times daily and effecting social distancing.
The company has also been using various in-house channels to provide ongoing education on various Covid-19 related topics led by its company doctor and experts. Amongst other topics, these videos focus on how to keep your home Covid-19 safe, what to do when you test positive, how to manage your symptoms during a recovery period, and how to care for a loved one who tested positive.
The beer & cider manufacturer has also prioritised mental wellbeing during this time, recognising that employees are faced with a number of challenges such as juggling work and domestic responsibilities, coping with reduced income and the threat to their physical health. To this end, employees have access to a suite of online mental health services, including counselling provided by various professionals.
“Throughout this pandemic, the health and safety of our people has remained our top priority. One of our organisational behaviours is “Safety First, Safety Always”,and it is central in everything we do. We have responded to the crisis by ensuring that our colleagues are regularly informed about the latest Coronavirus developments and safety measures, while complying with and implementing preventative measures in the work environment. We realise that our employees are not the only ones that could benefit from our support, but that we could augment our interventions and extended assistance to their families too. In this way, we can strengthen our efforts to decelerate the spread of the virus,” says Yvonne Mosadi, Human Resources Director at HEINEKEN South Africa.
