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Gig workers have emerged as an indispensable part of the Indian workforce, especially when it comes to “fast” commerce services. According to human resources solutions company TeamLease Services, the “fast” trading companies hired 70,000-80,000 employees in fiscal 22. Although gig workers now make up a significant portion of the job market, they are deprived of most of the benefits available to full-time employees, forcing them to leave their jobs within months of joining.
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As a result, “fast” trading companies are seeing a shortage of contract workers and the immediate consequence of this has been inefficiency and delay in service delivery. This is mainly due to the fact that gig workers face several challenges, including risk to their own lives as they strive to deliver products on time, low wages, and extreme working conditions such as the recent heatwave. These and other negative factors cause health problems, absenteeism and job changes.
While it is commendable that “fast-paced” trading companies are hiring large numbers of employees, they would do well to treat them as early as possible on an equal footing with their full-time employees. This will mean providing gig workers with a range of employee benefits, none more urgent than health insurance. Many of these workers have little or no savings, which can be very stressful for them and their families in times of medical emergency. As a survey conducted by the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) in collaboration with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) revealed, an alarming 95.3% of contract workers employed in startups and belonging to the gig economy they do not have any form of insurance, illness or accident.
The top priority for “fast-paced” trading companies is to provide gig workers with health insurance. Here are the four most important insurance plans every ‘quick’ trading company should offer gig workers to improve their quality of life, keep them in the workforce, and attract newcomers.
Term life insurance: The ongoing pandemic has led to an increase in flexible working as people are turning to gig or freelance work. With reduced job security, the safety net of a term life insurance policy can be extremely comforting and offer peace of mind. While group life insurance barely offers enough coverage for people with families or other dependents, it still provides some level of protection and is worth joining.
How can it be exploited in India? Insurance companies specializing in health insurance for employees in India, can help quick trade companies with comprehensive medical coverage of up to INR 3 lakh for their employees, with no sickness sub-limits, AYUSH and home hospitalization coverage, no co -sublimits or cappings relating to pay or sickness.
Group health insurance: Fast trading companies should consider including gig workers in their group health insurance plans (GHI). GHI is beneficial to both employer and employee and offers many advantages over retail health insurance products. For employers, the GHI is 100% tax deductible. This means that companies get full tax deduction benefits under various sections of the income tax law when they pay for employee health care. Whereas, for gig-workers, there are benefits such as no waiting period, coverage for pre-existing illness, and the inclusion of comprehensive health packages that include coverage for both preventative and curative treatments.
Personal accident: Gig workers move a lot, from one activity or one job to another, placing them in the high risk category for road accidents, physical injury and disability. A personal accident insurance policy covers medical expenses in the event of an accident and temporary or permanent disability. It also provides financial security to the contractor’s family in the event of death as a result of the accident.
Income protection: Since gig workers at “fast” trading companies spend a lot of their time traveling to ensure prompt delivery of service, they are prone to health problems. Income protection coverage provides the insured with regular income in case he has health problems or suffers an injury and until then he resumes work.
The retention rate in “fast” trading companies is declining as gig workers change jobs over a span of two to three months. One way to motivate them to stay is to let them know that they are as important to the company as full-time employees. “Quick” trading companies can do this by offering gigs of attractive employee benefits to the workforce by starting with adequate health insurance and showing that they care.