JP Morgan Gives Bank Tellers and Other Front-Line Employees a $1,000 bonus

In a Friday memo to employees, JP Morgan said it was giving all its bank tellers and other “front-line” employees a $1,000 bonus as an incentive for working during the coronavirus pandemic. The purpose of the incentive is to help the concerned employees deal with difficulties faced during the coronavirus pandemic such as “childcare and transportation.”

“Many of our frontline employees in our branches, operations and call centers, and other key sites who continue to go into their office or branch each day face particular challenges related to issues like childcare and transportation,” the memo carried. “To help them meet these challenges and to recognize their ongoing commitment to our customers, clients, and communities, we will make a one-time COVID-19 special payment equal to a maximum of US$1,000,” the memo further said.

In spite of the temporal shutdown of schools, workplaces, retail stores, restaurants, and other social gathering centers, it is quite impossible for some organizations to have all units of their employees work from home and JP Morgan is one of such. Its $1,000 bonus move may boost morale amongst employees who get to still go to work amid coronavirus threats. The firm puts it as “a sweetener for their [front line employees] efforts.”

Quite a few banks are mandated to remain open to meet customer demands for cash or other banking services in spite of the fears surrounding the coronavirus. With regard to this fact, Dean Athanasia, president of Consumer and Small Business at Bank of America says “Our clients rely on us every day for every aspect of their financial lives… we’re going to continue to provide convenient access to important services they count on…”

“Our clients rely on us every day for every aspect of their financial lives

According to the memo, full-time and part-time staff whose job descriptions require that they work from an office or branch, and earn less than $60,000 a year or based at any of the consumer banking branches are all eligible to receive the $1,000 bonus payment. The bank has nearly 5,00 branches and has since closed 1,000 of its branches since the coronavirus pandemic. This followed after JP Morgan announced earlier this week that it was closing nearly 20% of its US branches in order to reduce its staff’s chances of exposure to the coronavirus.

The bank has said that the one-time payment will be paid twice, one in April and the other in May. In a bid to further ease working staff off the difficulty of working during the coronavirus pandemic, the bank has permitted its staff to work in a more relaxing dress code, especially call center staff.