The health and safety of our employees are always our highest priority. Beyond the company, we also consider it our duty to act responsibly and to do our part to protect society.
Siemens is continuously monitoring all aspects of the Covid-19 situation, evaluating all new developments and taking measures to protect its employees. The economic consequences of Covid-19 will impact Siemens. On March 18, 2020, Siemens Investor Relations released a business update on this impact. Nevertheless, it’s not yet possible to sufficiently quantify the business consequences at this time.
We’re doing everything we can to maintain operations at our production plants as well as our service to continue to support our customers and partners as far as possible. This is particularly important in areas in which, together with customers, we provide products and services for vital infrastructure. As we do this, the health and safety of our employees and our partners are always a top priority. And we are, of course, cooperating closely with the relevant public authorities, works councils and representatives of people with disabilities.
Ever since the Covid-19 outbreak began, Siemens has been continuously implementing timely measures to protect its employees and its partners, and the company will continue to do so rigorously.
Selected measures already implemented
Hygiene
We make our employees aware of the need for social distancing and inform them about precautions and hygiene measures.
Travel
There’s currently no general travel ban at Siemens. We advise our employees to refrain from trips that aren’t absolutely necessary. Personal meetings should be replaced by conference calls or similar options. All travelers returning from (business or private) trips to areas that the Robert Koch-Institut has classified as risk areas are advised not to enter Siemens locations, but to contact their supervisors from home to determine how best to proceed (for example, working from home). Additional country-specific regulations may apply.
Mobile work
Whenever possible, Siemens employees are to work from home until further notice. In the past, we’ve had good experience with teleworking.
Production
Siemens has established processes for ensuring the continuity of manufacturing operations to the greatest possible extent. To ensure that our employees are protected, we’re working together with our works councils and the representatives of people with disabilities to do everything we can to implement the recommendations made by national and international authorities.
Childcare
For all parents, it’s a challenging situation when daycare centers, kindergartens and schools are closed. Despite intensive efforts, it’s not always possible to find alternative childcare facilities. Options for reducing hours in their flextime accounts, making up working hours later, or taking paid or unpaid vacation can help make the situation easier to manage. Where appropriate, working from home can also be an option. Together with their supervisors, employees should seek a solution that helps them master the challenge.
In addition, in special childcare emergencies, Siemens offers support to employees in Germany who can’t work from home. Following consultation with their supervisors, the company offers them the possibility to take paid time off until the beginning of the Easter school break. Here, the employee contributes 50% of the lost working hours as part of the flextime program.
