Oppo Kenya, a Chinese smartphone company, has introduced stringent measures that will see it slash salaries of employees who report to work late, leave early or fail to pick up calls from their bosses during working hours.
The employees had been working from home since Covid-19 hit Kenya in 2020 but were instructed to resume working from their offices on March 28, 2022, at FCB Mihrab building on Nairobi’s Lenana Road. They were then served with a memo by the human resources department that took effect on April 1. They are required to work for eight hours per day from Monday to Friday.
They are to work on Saturdays as well, but with a rider that they work from home for eight hours.
Reporting time for every working day is 8.30 am, with each employee required to check- out at 5.30 pm. Should one fail to comply, their salary is reduced at the end of every month. For late arrival, “15 minutes later than the check-in time” or early departure, “15 minutes earlier than the check-out time,” one will be deducted Sh200 for every instance.
“This is very toxic, why would they wake up and come up with such punitive regulations? It’s ridiculous. I mean, I’m not sure if these regulations are even legal in the first place.
New measures
“Honestly, I am worried because with these new measures, I will be losing Sh2,000 every week, especially on Saturdays when they want us to work literally the entire day,” an employee, whose name is withheld for fear of reprisal, said in an interview.
“What happens when we have product launches and one needs to check out early to have everything in place?”
Reached for comment, Charity Njue, the Oppo Kenya human resources manager, did not answer calls. Her assistant, Grace Magu, however, confirmed the memo had been sent to employees but declined to comment further, saying she was not authorised to speak to the matter.
The human resources department, however, responded to Sunday Nation’s queries via email without elaborating the issues raised in the memo.
“In regard to any internal communications done to company staff, kindly ask the employee that has any concerns or questions to consult their supervisor or the human resources department. That’s the approved process,” reads the response.
An employee will be considered to have worked a half-day should he or she report to work more than 15 minutes after the check-in time and consequently lose half of the income for that day.
Should the employee check in more than 15 minutes later and leave work more than 15 minutes earlier, he or she will be considered not to have worked that day and, as a result, a one-day wage will be slashed from the salary.
“On Saturdays, as we work from home, all staff need to use the app to check in. During working hours, it is necessary to maintain the working status, keep the mobile phone on and the work network open and respond to work communications in time,” the memo reads.
If an employee does not return a missed call from the management between 20 minutes and an hour after the call was made, he or she will be considered to have worked a half-day. If one does not return the missed call after an hour, a full day’s income will be deducted, as this will be considered absenteeism. Should an employee be considered absent three times in a month, he or she will receive a warning letter that may later lead to dismissal.
Each employee is entitled to 21 paid leave days and should one exceed the leave days, he or she loses the income for the extra days. Even with new measures, a source at the firm claimed there is a huge pay disparity between Chinese and Kenyan employees.
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