MidOcean Partners, which owns B2B media and information companies such as Questex and Hanley Wood|Meyers Research, has created an Employee Support Fund that offers financial assistance to employees of its portfolio companies during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Support Fund—which is available to recently furloughed and laid off employees as well as current staffers—is intended to help with any one-time unforeseen hardships, including medical conditions and procedures not related to COVID-19 and caring for family members that are experiencing hardships.
“When the crisis hit, it affected each of our companies differently” says Jim Scarfone, MidOcean’s Chief Human Resource Officer. “Some are barely affected while others suddenly had no revenue coming in. Obviously, this is a time of hardship for a lot of people and we discussed internally, what else can MidOcean do?”
In addition to financial assistance, MidOcean will cover the cost for employees of portfolio companies to receive legal counsel for up to one month from another MidOcean holding, LegalShield, which provides affordable access to legal services and identify theft and monitoring and restoration services.
MidOcean hasn’t publicized the Employee Support Fund (I heard about it from a Connectiv member who is an executive at a MidOcean portfolio company) but it’s an outstanding gesture and reminder that we are all in this together.
