OUR NEW WAYS OF WORKING

Covid-19 has disrupted everyone’s daily routines, shutting down offices, schools, restaurants and many public spaces in our countries. These were crucial measures taken by governments to try to stop the spread of the virus. We have all followed the guidelines, stayed home and figured out how to live and work in these unprecedented circumstances.

Our response to the Covid-19 challenge was fast and decisive. It was driven by ONE guiding principle: your health and safety. This is and will remain our top priority. We took immediate action to protect you and our clients, while strengthening our remote channels to remain open for business.

We have done this successfully thanks to the tremendous effort made by everyone in the bank: our branch heroes, support superstars and all our smart workers.

The encouraging news is that the preventive measures are working, and the growth of infected cases is decreasing in our markets. The slowing of the spread of the virus is a prerequisite to ease restrictions. Countries which have seen the steepest drop in infections are now shifting to the so-called ‘Phase 2’, allowing economies to gradually restart.

We should all be proud of the things we have achieved and learnt in the past weeks. We are building on your feedback from the survey launched by the Millennial Board and on our experiences, as we move towards the next phase. Let’s be clear: we will NOT rush and we will base all our decisions on data, not dates.

Re-starting our activities: progressively and to the highest safety standards

The majority of closed retail branches will progressively re-open in the coming weeks. Rest assured, we will be implementing the highest safety standards.

Some of you who work on activities with a higher operational risk when performed remotely or subject to specific business requirements will be gradually invited to return to your usual place of work.

For anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable returning for any reason – such as personal health issues or because you are caring for children or elderly relatives – together, we will explore different options to allow you to keep working remotely, through flexible arrangements and/or paid leave. As colleagues slowly start returning to offices and branches, there will be specific guidelines to follow – such as rotating schedules and staggered working hours – to respect continued physical distancing and avoid overcrowding, making sure people don’t have to enter or leave buildings at the same time.

We will apply strict physical distancing rules everywhere and at all times, in our branches, call centres and all of our other business premises. It will be mandatory for everybody (colleagues and external suppliers, such as cleaning staff, consultants, receptionists…) to always wear masks within all our premises. Where more restrictive local regulations apply (e.g. Italy) also customers will be required to wear masks. We will be providing them at all our premises.

For those who will not be invited to come back, smart working will remain and your manager will reach out to further discuss what Phase 2 means for you specifically.

Supporting our clients and real economy

Your health and safety and that of our customers have always been, and will always be, our top priority. We will never compromise on this.

Let’s make sure that together we fully engage in this new phase, with care and discipline, in order to continue to support our clients and the real economy.

Thank you for your continued commitment and incredible efforts to ensure our Group remains fully “open for business”! Together, as One UniCredit, we are stronger.

Should you have any questions, do please contact your manager or your HR business partner.

As always, we will… Do the Right Thing!