Work-from-home to end by December 30 in Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica: Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced, the mandatory work from home guideline for public sector workers will be no longer be in effect from January 1, 2022.  

The announcement was made by the prime minister on Tuesday in the House of Representatives while providing an update on the current COVID-19 situation in Jamaica. The guideline has been in effect since 2020 and will now end on December 30, 2021.  

PM Holness cited, “There has been a lot of concern about the loss of productivity that the measure of work from home is having. We need to get back to normal, but of course, to do so safely, adding that “This is not to say that we are abandoning work from home totally; it will be an option, but not a requirement”.  

The Jamaican government keeps a goal to return back with prolificacy from the first week of the next year, to which he asked the ministries, companies, agencies and several departments to decide what would be best for them.  

The Prime minister highlighted governments’ support for the public sector, noting that the administration always asked the sector to do what they feel is the best. 

Following the statement, he noted that some private companies gave the government an indication that they are bringing their staff back to the office. 

“The public sector must get back to work at their workplaces,” he added.  

He also asked the entities to make sure that the COVID-19 health protocols and guidelines are strictly followed by its employees and the other staff so that they can work in a safe and secure environment without getting panic of contracting the deadliest COVID-19 virus.

Apart from this, PM Holness also announced other changes in the COVID-19 protocols. The curfew timings now have been relaxed in the island that is from 10 pm until 5 am each day as of Friday, December 10 till Friday, January 14, 2022.