The final week of August saw the highest return to the UK’s professional workforce, with 50% returning to the office between the 26th and 30th of August – a significant increase from 30% in June.*
Since lockdown was introduced over six months ago, it’s estimated that working from home has led to the average Brit racking up an additional 28 hours of monthly overtime; equivalent to almost four days’ worth of work.
A key explanation for this is the fact that 86% have been anxious to prove their value and remain in employment during such a difficult period of economic uncertainty.
Now, with the government pushing firms to reopen their premises and save struggling city centres, business owners are faced with a unique challenge to grapple with. That being, how to pandemic-proof their businesses.
Many predict to see businesses dealt lawsuits in the coming months from employees, customers and vendors, all as a response to unsafe work practices that result in the spread of the coronavirus.
Small businesses in particular may fear the consequences of such enormous liabilities as well as the reputational fall-out that could arise from becoming an epicentre of pandemic activity.
How are you planning to minimise risks and protect your workforce?
It’s not enough to introduce the notion of safety protocols without the means to maintain them. You need to be enforcing those protocols every minute, hour and day that your business is in operation.
That could mean limiting activities where close contact is unavoidable, having your team regularly use sanitising gel at stations throughout your workplace, and closing or limiting access to any common areas or breakrooms.
Depending on your budget and available resources, you may also need to consider implementing touchless entry systems as well as desk dividers to give your employees the confidence to return to work.
Another important aspect is to ensure you’re overly communicating what you are doing. Whether it’s to an internal or an external audience, this will mean more people ‘buy in’ to your safety protocols, which is critical to the success of these changes both short and long-term.
Done right, these health measures will go a long way protecting your business from future risks.
For more information about business liability cover and any additional risk management concerns you might have, contact us today.
*Source: Office of National Statistics.