Preparing your business for re-entry from lockdown! Important considerations!

Transcript:

So, preparing for re-entry. The latest news is that the government are planning a five-stage re-entry plan following lockdown.

It’s great news for businesses, great news for all of us as we can start to get back to normal, making money and getting our lives back to normal.

But as business owners this triggers a whole range of new things to take into consideration and a number of tasks to complete. So number one, how do I phase my business back in?

Is it everybody straight back in, we open the doors, customers come in, all the staff are back, its business as usual, the demands there, if that’s the way it’s going to happen then absolutely fantastic.

Wonderful news.

Step two, actually, it’s not going to happen quite like that. There’s going to be a phased approach back in we’re not expecting demand to come all the way back.

We need to phase out staffing. We need to reopen the business at different times. There are parts of the business that won’t reopen straight away etc….

Or number three, we need a completely new look business following this lockdown period. The coronavirus has destroyed our business as we knew it and we need to rethink about the way we do things immediately when we come back. So number one straight back in.

So the questions to ask around going straight back in and one is how do I return my staff from furlough? If I can return my stuff from furlough what happens if we have got employees that can’t return back from furlough because their health doesn’t allow them to or probably, which is going to be quite quite commonplace is people don’t feel comfortable about coming back in from furlough because they’re still nervous about the coronavirus etc.

Can I insist on them coming back?

What can I do to make that transition more comfortable?

What happens if they just refuse to come back?

Where does that leave me as an employer? Where do I stand?

What are my rights? So all those things that you need to consider in order to get straight back at it.

Number two, phased approach. Lots in the press at the moment about furlough about them pulling it back in it’s costing three times more than they expected.

It’s not sustainable. What we haven’t heard is that anything that’s going to pull it back from the current end of June deadline.

However, it’s pretty clear that the government want to wean companies off furlough and put the people off furlough as quickly as possible.

So as they relax these lockdown rules, there will be more pressure on businesses to get back at it.

And there will be more questions to ask of businesses who continue to furlough their staff.

So start planning for them to come back.

But what will happen after June? The government of hinted that there might be a gradual release of furlough.

We’ll have to wait and see.

So can I pull some people back off furlough and leave some people on? What happens if furlough just expires and I still can’t bring my people back?

What are my options? Can I lay people off? Do I make them redundant? Etc, etc. So lots of questions on a phased return back in.

The last piece here is a new look business. So I know I need to make redundancies, I need to close parts of my business, I need to close certain stores, I need to close a plant, whatever your business is you need to make significant change.

So if you need to make redundancies, you need to make contractual changes, pay changes, changes to bonuses, changes to commission, you need to restructure departments; you need to outsource functions; you need to close sites, offices, think about working from home.

All of these are massive tasks to undertake but are all doable.

Right! This is the opportunity to get your business into shape for the next 5, 10, 15 years following this coronavirus lockdown and potential recession.

So set your stall out for what you really need to happen. Plan it accordingly and all of this can be done.

However, I urge you to seek professional help guidance and support in doing it.

There’s lots of companies out there that entered into furlough on a bit of a hit and miss basis and you may or may not get away with that.

You know, you may get away with sticking people on furlough without issuing them the proper letters and consultation, but one thing’s for sure you will not get away with fudging the next stage.

You will not get away with fudging your entry. You will not get away with ignoring redundancy consultation process, etc. etc. etc. So, Get advice. There’s lots of HR companies out there and I of course will put Harwood HR Solutions forward as a very good choice if you need help and support, and if you need that help and support there’s a link on this video that will allow you to contact us and we’ll give you free consultation help guidance and support if you need it.

We will also follow this up with more videos. We will follow this up with webinars to help you through this process, but anything you need to ask just give us a shout and we’re on your side will help you out and above all else stay safe, above all else stay professional. Do it correctly.

Give yourself the right opportunity for being successful following this whole lockdown period. Thank you for the time to listen to the video.

I’ll speak to you soon. Thanks guys.