Feature Articles

On Sunday 10 May 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that he had been working on guidance for employers in England on how workplaces can remain COVID-19 secure. This guidance was released on Monday 11 May 2020 as eight documents, each covering different sectors. There are some commonalities covering every sector.

On 22 September 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that office workers should once again be able to work from home if they can in England – this default position had remained the same in Scotland and Wales. Generally, priority for employers in England is now likely to be implementing homeworking again. For more information on his announcement, see our What’s New item

On 24 September 2020, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced his Winter Economy Plan designed to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months. As part of the Plan, the Chancellor announced the Job Support Scheme (JSS) which will replace the Job Retention Scheme (JRS).

On 24 September 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the new Job Support Scheme, aimed at helping businesses retain staff over the coming months and serve as a replacement to the Job Retention (furlough) Scheme. Ben McCarthy, lead researcher and employment law writer at Croner-i, explores key differences between these two schemes below.

Changing how people behave at work is always a challenge. Mike Sopp describes how a behaviour change campaign can be useful in encouraging Covid-19 secure behaviours.

FAQs on furlough and the Government’s Job Retention Scheme which aims to provide employers with an alternative to redundancies. This information is being continually checked and updated where necessary where Government guidance changes.

How can PPE prevent the spread of coronavirus at work? Mike Sopp summarises Government guidance on when and where PPE should be used.

The Government requires businesses in designated sectors to support the NHS Test and Trace service by keeping a temporary record of all staff working, customers and visitors for 21 days. Paul Clarke reviews what this means in terms of data collection.

The UK Government has published a set of guidance documents to assist a range of workplaces with advice on establishing safe operations. Gordon Tranter considers the updated advice given to people who work in or run factories, plants and warehouses.

Grainne Kelly summarises the updated Government guidance to help those who run and work in shops and branches understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic.