Covid Recovery

It’s no overstatement to say that the coronavirus pandemic presents huge challenges for employers.  Our specialist lawyers can help HR teams manage the immediate, ongoing and future people issues arising out of the pandemic.  We believe in the importance of working collaboratively, sharing expertise, and experience – this is integral to our ethos. Areas that we can advise on include:

• Placing employees on furlough and navigating the scheme.
• Instituting safe and effective homeworking and hybrid working arrangements.
• Managing COVID-related isolation, sickness absence and general employee wellbeing.
• Navigating the rules on business travel, quarantine and COVID testing.
• Meeting your duties to provide a safe and COVID-secure workplace.
• Managing remuneration issues including the impact of COVID on bonus awards and LTIPs.
• Dealing with employee misconduct, such as failure to comply with health and safety rules.
• Preparing policies on vaccination in the workplace. 
• Responding to requests for permanent homeworking, including from vulnerable employees.
• Planning reorganisations, redundancy exercises and changes to terms and conditions.

To bring this to life, in recent months our lawyers have advised employers of different sizes and sectors on the following COVID-related matters:

• Advising on entry to and exit from the furlough scheme, including drafting bespoke furlough agreements.
• Acting on an unfair dismissal claim brought by a furloughed employee who alleged unfair selection for redundancy on the basis of their furloughed status.
• Devising a fair and lawful approach to vaccination of staff and return to the workplace.
• Advising on the relocation of a former employee and the rules on quarantine and testing upon their return to the UK.
• Addressing employee concerns about return to work where they have particular concerns e.g. disability or shielding relatives.
• Advising on a post-pandemic fully flexible working policy. 
• Managing day-to-day HR issues such as misconduct and poor performance against the backdrop of COVID.
• Conducting internal hearings and Employment Tribunal hearings remotely.