Coronavirus: Checklist and FAQs for employers
Get answers to the most commonly asked and HR practice related questions and understand how to support your business through a global health emergency.
Get answers to the most commonly asked and HR practice related questions and understand how to support your business through a global health emergency.
The coronavirus (or COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. With person-to-person transmission, reported cases have since continued to grow exponentially. As governments and public health authorities adjust their policies to respond to the challenge, companies need guidance on how best to address the situation with regards to their employees.
Committed to supporting employers in the region, the CIPD, in collaboration with a leading law firm, has compiled a list to provide you with answers to the most commonly asked HR practice related questions.
At the moment organisations should focus on their planning and prevention measures with both urgency and calm. It’s doing what you can to immediately protect staff and to plan for possible disruptions if things escalate:
It’s important to remember that people will be worried about the virus. As employers, you do not only have a duty of care to ensure you take reasonable steps to ensure health and safety, but also the responsibility to ensure the well-being of your people.
You may want to offer enhanced support to people more vulnerable to illness due to age and/or any underlying health conditions. It might also be useful to promote other support mechanisms you have in place, such as Employee Assistance and well-being programmes. Lastly, education remains critical and it’s important to avoid misinformation or the spread of rumours that could lead to casting away some employees or tensions within teams.
Provided this is feasible from an operational point of view, it is certainly an option in order to maintain productivity and pay. This should ideally be with an employee's agreement. There are however a number of legal implications including health and safety, immigration and insurance.
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Note: CIPD is not engaged in the practice of law, accounting or medicine. Any commentary in this article does not constitute and is not a substitute for legal, tax or medical advice. Readers of this article should consult a legal, tax or medical expert for advice on those matters.
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