Facebook is taking measures to reduce the economic burdens that its employees are facing due to the coronavirus. They’ve decided to grant $1000 in bonuses to all of their employees who are working from home.
Employees Get Some Relief
Those who have to self-quarantine or care for a sick person at home will surely appreciate this. Those with children or pets to take care of could do well with this bit of extra money as well.
It’s not just the bonuses, either. Facebook is also planning to give all of its employees an “exceeds” rating for the six-month employee review of 2020. This isn’t just a symbolic gesture, either. These employee reviews may now earn certain employees bigger bonuses in the future. Facebook made $20 billion in profits through Q4 of 2019, so they certainly have the financial backbone to do this.
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Contract Workers Won’t Receive Bonus
Not everyone who works at Facebook will be applicable for this $1000 bonus, though. It’s specifically applicable for their full-time employees. This means that contract workers and freelancers won’t receive it. They’ll still receive their agreed-upon payment.
“The $1,000 is for full-time employees who are working from home. For contract workers, we are sending them home and paying them in full even if they are unable to work, which is much more meaningful than a one-off payment,” said Facebook in a statement.
Hourly Workers Taken Care Of Facebook
They aren’t leaving their hourly workers, such as their janitors, out in the wind, either. Since Facebook’s offices are closed, these hourly employees, whose work depends on being present at the offices themselves, would’ve been in trouble. Facebook has promised to pay their usual hourly rates, though, to put their mind at ease in these unfortunate circumstances.
Facebook’s company spokesperson, Chloe Meyer, said the following in an email, “We are working closely with our vendors to ensure we prioritize our team’s health and safety. Facebook will pay contingent workers that cannot work due to reduced staffing requirements during voluntary work from home, when we close an office, when we choose to send an employee home, or when they are sick.”
Facebook joins numerous tech companies, such as Twitter and Microsoft, who have shifted to a work-from-home model. Mark Zuckerberg, their CEO has also announced that he will join Bill Gates in contributing funds to test the coronavirus in the San Francisco Bay area.
