Key Factors for the Government's new Phase of its Coronavirus Strategy

After the preservation of life, business survival is the overwhelming focus across the globe. In the UK the drastic measures taken by organisations of all sizes have resulted in the temporary closure of 25 per cent of all businesses and of the remaining businesses that are still able to open, 41 per cent are operating with reduced staff, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).  Devastating as the coronavirus is, economic collapse will also bring devastating consequences.

UK businesses will need to keep their contingency plans for the lifting of lockdown and a return to work as flexible as possible. Clearly all businesses want to resume commercial activities as soon as possible and start the fightback to as near normality as quickly as possible under present circumstances. Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors, was quick to point out that “directors know that the battle with this virus is far from over, and they want to play their part in preventing a second spike, which would extend the economic pain.”  He also commented “as the government begins to ask more people to return to work, it’s vital that the guidance is clear so that companies can plan how to return safely. As people with ultimate legal responsibility, directors need to have confidence that it’s safe, and that if they act responsibly they won’t be at undue risk. Businesses should consult with their people to put in place robust policies, which in many cases might not be an overnight process.”

The latest coronavirus bulletin delivered by Boris Johnson on Sunday 10 May has largely been regarded as lacking in detail and did not provide the guidance on how to ensure the safety of employees when returning to work.  Business owners are keenly aware that they may be exposed if they encourage or compel staff to return to work to an unsafe environment.  Therefore the subsequent 50-page document outlining the detail as to how the easing of lockdown is to be legally achieved brings very welcome clarity to all. 

The Work Place

The encouragement of employees to return to work only applies to those industries where employees cannot work from home.  All those who can work from home should remain to do so.  Social distancing should be maintained in the newly opened workplaces.  Businesses may have to considerably vary their way of working to accommodate these measures.  Variable start times and shift patterns as well as the end of hot-desking and crowded working environments in factories and call centres are amongst the changes being considered. Work places may face having to be redesigned on a permanent basis as coronavirus will not be a short term problem and any effective a vaccine or any truly effective treatment realistically will take a considerable length of time to develop.

Sharing equipment will have to be reconsidered, such commonplace items as keyboards and a computer mouse may have to be allocated for each person and only that person. A greater reliance on technology, with cost-effective Zoom and Teams replacing the need for large numbers of employees to travel to head office for meetings. 

All these measures and far more will be required to ensure that there is as little opportunity as possible for a resurgence of the virus with the attendant loss of life. Limitations on contact and any other procedures deemed necessary must be strictly enforced by employers to prevent the need to reinstate another period of lockdown.   New safety guidelines that set out how each type of physical space can be adapted to operate safely. The government has been consulting relevant sectors, industry bodies, local authorities, trades unions, the Health and Safety Executive and Public Health England on their development and will release them this week.

Schools, Nurseries, Nannies and Childminders

The proposed return to school for early years children and the permission for nannies and childminders to resume work is aimed at allowing employees to return to the work place or work more efficiently from home once the important requirement for child care is removed. As well as ensuring that children receive the education they deserve.  Monitoring social distancing for this age group will be no easy task.

Travel

Returning employees are asked to avoid public transport if at all possible and social distancing on all public transport will be observed.  It is highly likely that face coverings will be worn by most people when travelling on public transport.  Even if a percentage of travellers are able to walk, cycle or drive to work there will still be a large number of people requiring trains, tubes and buses to reach their work place which will make the proposed social distancing difficult to achieve.

Businesses that rely on international travel will face a series of processes that the government plan to introduce in order to keep the overall levels of infection down.  It is likely that a period of quarantine will be required for all travellers entering the UK. The government plans to outline the new measures and restrictions to be applied at the UK border shortly. This will contribute to keeping the overall number of transmissions in the UK as low as possible.

If you would like assistance with reviewing employment contracts in relation to any aspect of implementing the new work place regime   please click here