Google will suspend employees who do not comply with its Covid-19 vaccine regulations and terminate them if they continue not to comply, according to an internal memo.
Google staff had until December 3 to provide proof of vaccination or apply for an exemption for medical or religious reasons, CNBC reported, citing the company memo. Management will start contacting unvaccinated employees on December 18.
The deadline for compliance is January 18, after which employees who have not adhered to the rules will be placed on "paid administrative leave" for 30 days, followed by a six-month "unpaid personal leave" with three months of benefits.
If an employee still does not comply after this period, Google will dismiss them.
The Alphabet-owned company told Android Central the policy was started in the US and will expand to offices in other countries "as local regulations permit". It remains unclear which countries would follow suit.
A Google spokesperson told The National on Thursday that the move is limited to the US as it is a government mandate. Any action Google will take for their employees in other regions will depend on local authorities’ guidelines.
“We firmly believe that our vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways we can keep our workforce safe and keep our services running. We’re committed to doing everything possible to help our employees who can get vaccinated do so,” the spokesperson added.
The technology giant's move stems from an order from the Biden administration that requires US companies with more than 100 employees to have their staff fully vaccinated or regularly tested on a weekly basis by January 18, a rule that covers 84 million employees. Washington also requires these companies to provide paid time to their staff to get vaccinated and sick leave to recover from any side effects.
The White House has not given any guidance on how to deal with employees who do not comply. Suspension or terminations are at the discretion of companies.
Google is among the big names in corporate America that is pushing for a vaccine mandate, a list that includes American Express, BlackRock, Cisco, Citigroup, Deloitte, Delta Air Lines, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Facebook, Ford, McDonald's, Microsoft, Netflix, Walt Disney and Walmart, according to NBC.
Google is not the first organisation to terminate staff if they refuse to comply with vaccine rules.
In September, United Airlines said it would dismiss around 600 employees for declining to comply with its vaccine rules. Northwell Health, the state of New York's largest health care provider, fired about 1,400 in October.
The recently-discovered Omicron variant has also forced companies across the world to rethink their return-to-office plans.
Google employs around 150,000 globally, with about 100,000 in North America.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Du Plessis plans his retirement
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.
Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.
"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:
Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')
Roma 2
Dzeko (81'), Perotti (85' pen)
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
