Carsome has set up a US$50K COVID-19 support fund for its employees across the SEA region. Headquartered in Malaysia, Carsome is an online platform to sell used cars. The company currently has an employee base of 700, spread across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

As shared in a press release, through the support fund, the used-car selling platform aims to extend financial support to its employees and their families, in the event they contract the COVID-19 virus.

Sponsored by Carsome, with contributions from the company’s management, the fund has been set up to avoid any likely financial distress by providing support to the affected in the following four areas:

• Bearing test costs for those who experience symptoms (capped at US$200)
• Providing immediate relief for employees and their family if they have contracted the disease, one-time gratuity payment of US$1,000 to each infected employee, along with covering additional medical costs, capped at US$3,000)
• Ensuring full salary pay outs to those have been asked to mandatorily work from home (for a maximum period of three months)
• Providing financial support to community projects working towards accelerating vaccination, COVID-19 awareness, and societal recovery plans.

Commenting on the above, Carsome’s CEO and Co-Founder, Eric Cheng said, “COVID-19 is unlike any other previous crisis we have seen and has caused major disruption in businesses, healthcare and the economy. With the support fund, we hope we can help alleviate the stress the crisis has brought to our employees by contributing to the fight against the pandemic. We would also like to encourage all of our employees to constantly take good care of their personal hygiene and seek medical help should they feel unwell."

“As we grapple with the scale of this pandemic, we will continue to provide our employees with the utmost attention and do our very best to care for their safety and well-being,” added Cheng.

The outbreak is far from being declared over, with all the efforts directed towards recovery and containment. Amid such tense moments, initiatives like these go a long way in assuring employees that the organization supports their wellbeing and security in every circumstance.

While the pandemic has forced several organizations across the globe to let go off their people, there are others who are striving hard to not just keep employees on the payroll but extend support, both financial and emotional, to tide through these difficult times. 

Find out how you can support employees and keep the business running, read this article to identify cost-cutting alternatives you can implement in your organization.