Coronavirus has hit global headlines in recent weeks, with the World Health Organisation declaring a global public health emergency.
To date there have been no confirmed cases in the Bailiwick, but cases are rising in the UK with the current confirmed numbers (as at 5.3.20) standing at 116.
With an estimated impact of 20% of the UK workforce off sick during the peak of the Coronavirus impact and with statutory sick pay commencing in the UK as of the 1 st day, it is important to be minded of steps that can be taken as an organisation to help prevent the spread.
As a Company Focus are determined to ensure we provide the best possible cover to our clients in the event that cases arise in Guernsey. The first part of this process is ensuring the wellbeing of our own employees, therefore as a business we have taken the following precautions, in line with government guidelines:
• We have placed hand sanitisers in the office and encourage regular washing of hands and use of the sanitiser;
• Our employees will not be shaking hands with anyone;
• We will be maintaining a 2 metre distance between ourselves and other people, particularly those who are coughing, sneezing and have a fever;
• We have replaced bathroom towels with paper towels to reduce cross contamination;
• Anyone with symptoms of coronavirus will remain at home and self-isolate until confirmed that they are safe to return;
• Minimise face to face interaction with clients if the virus presents itself in Guernsey;
• Employees will not be able to hot desk and only work from their own desk. In order to ensure we provide business continuity we have also ensured that:
• All employees have access to our systems remotely from home in the event that they are self-isolated;
• We have trained extra staff on payroll in the event that our payroll team are unable to work or require extra support;
• As payroll is usually more time critical, all payroll activities will take precedent over any HR work for clients in the event that we are not at full capacity staffing wise;
• Travel plans will be reviewed in line with government advice.
In order to ensure we provide business continuity we have also ensured that:
• All employees have access to our systems remotely from home in the event that they are self-isolated;
• We have trained extra staff on payroll in the event that our payroll team are unable to work or require extra support;
• As payroll is usually more time critical, all payroll activities will take precedent over any HR work for clients in the event that we are not at full capacity staffing wise;
• Travel plans will be reviewed in line with government advice.
In the event that Focus is hit by the Coronavirus the impact on our clients could result in a slight delay in our normal response times. In order to help us with this we would ask our payroll clients to:
• limit the number of unnecessary changes to employee payroll in the month, for example, delaying bonus payments;
• Ensure all payroll adjustments for the month are sent to us in one communication via email to [email protected];
• send any changes to employee payroll as early as possible in the month to ensure we have plenty of time to process the payroll on time; note that we will only be able to finalise payroll if you have employees available to transfer funds to us.
In addition to the above we will also continue to follow public health updates and advise on ways to contain the virus and actively communicate these plans with employees and customers. If you are concerned in any way about either the effect Coronavirus might have on your business or about our business continuity then please do not hesitate to contact one of our directors.