Grab is encouraging employees to take voluntary no-pay leave, as transport ridership continues to plunge amid the ongoing Covid-19 circuit breaker.

In a letter sent to its drivers, which was shared with Mothership, the ride-hailing firm also warned that it may have to stop providing extra financial help if the circuit breaker is extended past June 1, 2020.

Grab extending financial help, but may have to stop

According to Andrew Chan, the Head of Transport at Grab, the company was initially hopeful that the stricter circuit breaker measures would be lifted on May 4.

However, with the circuit breaker being extended to June 1, the company is taking steps to prepare for an uncertain future.

"As our revenues continue to fall, senior Grab leaders have taken a pay cut of up to 20 per cent and Grab staff have also been encouraged to take no-pay leave voluntarily," said Chan.

Despite Grab's falling revenue, the company is also extending extra financial help to drivers till June 1, in order to help them cope with dwindling earnings.

Grab will continue to cut its commission by at least 50 per cent to help drivers, and those renting their cars from Grab will not have to pay any commission until May 10.

The company will also extend a weekly payout of either S$45 or S$85, depending on the drivers' tiers, to drivers until end-May, in order to supplement their income.

However, Chan warned that Grab may not be able to provide this extra financial help if the circuit breaker is extended past June 1.

Extra financial help funded by slashing driver benefits

Grab acknowledged that extending this assistance "was not an easy decision", as Grab's business has been badly hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

Chan said that the extra financial help is being funded by slashing certain Grab driver-partners' benefits, and also by voluntary donations made by Grab employees, which are matched dollar-for-dollar by the company.

According to the letter, the rewards for Monthly Top Rated driver-partners will be put on hold till further notice, and drivers will no longer receive Birthday Rewards.

While drivers will still have three free cancellations per week as part of their allowance, they will no longer receive compensation for these three cancellations.

Chan said that the company will continue to create more opportunities for their its drivers, on top of food deliveries, such as expanding GrabMart and GrabExpress.

Top image from Grab.