September 2020 – Covid-19 Impact on Employees

 

Starting an hour earlier this month did not seem to have deterred our networkers for our September 2020 breakfast meeting, with 18 people managing to attend – and no sign of pyjamas!

If you want to find out more about some of our members do check out the Member Spotlight’s page. Bear in mind that we do one a month so there’s an ongoing list of people to add!

In our ten-minute slot this month HR consultant and lecturer Peter Stanway, of Project HR, described some of the lessons that had been learned from Lockdown.

 

Implications for the future of both work and learning

Many thanks to Peter for doing his presentation while away on holiday!

Lockdown and furlough were a new experience for everyone, so it is perhaps not surprising that there was some inconsistency in the way it was handled by both employees and employers.

Communication and the expectations of employers, he said, had in some cases not been consistent and there were some employers who had used the period of lockdown and furlough to rethink their staffing needs and make some people redundant.

Employees working from home had on the whole been working really hard, he said, although a few had seen it as a chance to take things easy.

Some of the lessons learned had been that while foreign holidays were not necessary, taking some kind of holiday was important for mental health. This was something employers were beginning to take more seriously.

He said he had come across many employers who had been worried by the Government messaging, had closed down and then struggled to get people back to work.

Working from home had not been easy for many employees, he said, because of childcare and space issues, and it had become clear it was not for everyone. There were also issues for employers with ensuring Health and Safety and Data Protection compliance.

However, he said, it was also clear that remote working was potentially cheaper and greener.

The implications for the future of work were that it was likely to become more flexible, especially as employers should be ready for new lockdowns.  Given the likely increase in unemployment as employers continued to lose staff in order to survive there is likely to be an increased demand for help in getting access to work and to training.

Uncertainty is likely to be part of the new “normal”.

 

Future meetings

For the time being, meetings will be on the usual dates but via Zoom.  You will receive emails in advance to book and give you the log-in details and passwords. For both the breakfast and the coffee sessions, pre-booking is essential.

Chairman Allan is always happy to receive any suggestions for what members want to see the Chamber doing in the future. Please send your ideas (and your wish lists) to [email protected]

 

Dates for your diary:

October Coffee	October Breakfast
Online with Zoom	Online with Zoom
Friday, October 2	Friday, October 16
10.00am	NEW TIME 8.00am

For more information contact Keely Taylor

phone: 01449 770965 e-mail: [email protected].

Anyone who has a story to publicise should contact marketing officer Alison Withers: [email protected]