BPOs May Now Screen Recruits For HIV

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BPOs May Now Screen Recruits For HIV

DEEPSHIKHA MONGA & JOJI THOMAS PHILIP

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2007 04:28:35 AM]

NEW DELHI: It is possible that a job interview with a BPO firm could

in the future entail a HIV/AIDS test. And once recruited, you could

also be subjected to random alcohol testing. Players in the BPO

industry, which has a large youth employee base, are considering

HIV/AIDS tests as part of the recruitment process.

No final decision has been taken. " A few BPOs have approached me

informally and asked if they could introduce HIV/AIDS testing for

employees. They also discussed testing employees for alcohol which

makes sense as liquor affects employee performance, " Nasscom president Kiran

Karnik told ET.

Asked about the rationale for considering HIV/ AIDS testing, Mr Karnik

said, " It's a changing world. The point of all medical tests is to

find out if a person is, in any way, unfit for the job. It is

individual company policy as to what tests are conducted. As far as

Nasscom's policies go, we have a Nasscom Foundation that disseminates

information on non-discriminatory HIV/AIDS policies at the workplace. "

It is learnt that a leading Gurgaon-based BPO has told its senior

executives that such tests are in the offing. When contacted, the

company spokesperson refused to confirm it but said, " There are many

Gurgaon-based BPOs that have had trouble with employees turning up

drunk at work. These companies are looking at testing employees for

alcohol. " Given the sensitivities attached to HIV/AIDS testing, it

remains to be seen whether BPOs, or anyone else for that matter, can

make such testing compulsory.

Terming HIV/AIDS testing as `discriminatory' , Business Process

Industry Association of India president Sam Chopra said, " I'd support

the alcohol-testing measure. There is currently an understanding that

the security personnel would bar inebriated employees from entering

the premises. " It's not known whether BPOs are considering testing

employees for alcohol on a random or regular basis. Companies that ET

spoke to said they haven't faced any case of intoxicated employees or

liquor consumption in the workplace but pointed towards `others' in

the fraternity hit by the bottle.

Recently, a Faridabad-based BPO employee, killed two children and

injured four others in south Delhi allegedly under the influence of

alcohol. Another leading Hyderabad-based BPO said the idea was

interesting but was not being considered by the firm.

" Most employers have best practices which include prohibition of

alcohol consumption in the office premises. If the employee manual

makes it clear that an employee can't be found intoxicated in office

or consuming liquor, the employer is entitled to test the employee, "

says Nasscom vice-president Ameet Nivsarkar. According to Nasscom

projections, IT-enabled services firms and BPOs together had about 5.5

lakh people on their payrolls in fiscal 2006-07.

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