Indian logistics startup offers 2 years’ pay in its bereavement policy

As India reels from the Covid-19 pandemic, logistics firm Ecom Express has rolled out a set of financial and non-financial assistance initiatives for the families of employees in the event their demise.

Photo credit: Ecom Express

The company announced it will pay the monthly salary of deceased employees to their families for a period of two years, along with its existing death benevolent fund scheme, which provides a lump sum to beneficiaries.

This comes after Oyo announced earlier this month that it will provide the family of a deceased employee with eight month’s worth of salary and a term insurance payout equal to three years of annual pay as part of its bereavement policy.

Ecom Express will also provide employment to one dependent family member such as a spouse, a child, or a sibling, or a nominee of the worker. It will offer training for the role, which will depend on the beneficiary’s qualifications and skills.

The company will also cover the education-related expenses of two children of the deceased up to the 12th grade. In case the children are not of school-going age, they can opt to use the benefit once they start schooling.

“Losing a family member is a great setback, and no family is immune to the impact of such an event,” said T.A. Krishnan, co-founder and CEO of Ecom Express.

Founded in 2012, Ecom Express offers express delivery services for the ecommerce industry. The company says it has reached over 90% of India’s population, establishing more than 85% of its presence in the country’s Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities as well as its hinterlands.

In December 2019, Ecom Express secured US$36 million in equity investment from CDC Group, a UK government-owned development finance institution and impact investor in South Asia and Africa.