As an employer, you have a duty of care for your employees health and safety at work along with their well-being. As we work through the coming weeks and months this will become even more paramount. To make sure that you are doing all you can there are some simple steps that you can take now:

• Make sure that you have up-to-date emergency contact details for all your employees and use secure HR software to store this information.
• Ensure that employees know how to report any absence relating to Covid-19 (for example if you require employees to email their line manager or log their absence on a HR System).
• Remind employees what symptoms to look out for.
• Remind employees of the latest advice with regards to self-isolation for anyone, or anyone who lives with someone, who develops a new, continuous cough or a high temperature.
• Make sure that your employees know what your response to the pandemic is and what you are doing as a business to help reduce the spread of the virus so that they can help ensure clients, suppliers etc. are kept up to date.
• Communicate regularly using emails, Skype, Teams and other methods as the situation changes.
• Make sure that your managers know how to access and understand all the relevant policies that you will use throughout this period (e.g. emergency dependents leave and sick absence procedures).
• The latest government advice is that people should work from home wherever possible so you should take steps to make this possible for as many employees as you can.
• Where you do still have employees on site reduce the spread of infection by providing soap and hand sanitiser gels, especially in communal areas like kitchens and coffee areas. Increase the frequency and intensity of office cleaning (considering a deep clean if necessary).
• Ban handshakes.
• Use your discretion around the need for medical evidence for a period of absence where an employee is advised to self-isolate for more than 7 days (employees can currently self-certify for the first seven days). The Government announced it will introduce a temporary alternative to the current fit note in the coming weeks and we will update you on this in due course.

• Develop a Business Continuity Plan if you don’t already have one in place (a contingency plan) to prepare for a range of eventualities which could occur as a result of the virus. 
• If you are a larger business, appoint a pandemic lead or team to prepare plans, keep on top of official advice and communicate this to employees.
• Consider making laptops and other equipment available for staff who wouldn’t normally work from home (make sure you remain GDPR compliant when considering your IT needs).
• Think about the skills you have within your workforce. What transferable skills do you have and will you have enough people to keep business running if you do face staff shortages? 
• Get creative and where you face challenges consider things like staggering shifts so fewer people are in the workplace at any one time.

We have taken these steps in our own business to ensure that we remain available to our clients throughout this period however, we know and understand that each business is different and will be facing their own specific challenges. To ensure you have your HR needs covered through the pandemic and beyond sign up to our HR Evolve service today.