Whilst there is no formal date cited for end of the lockdown or a possible return to work date, there is a palpable shift in businesses who are beginning to think how a return might be possible, how this might look and how they can continue to work within the public health guidelines on how to continue to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme due to conclude at the end of June and Italy and Spain beginning to ease lockdown restrictions, it looks likely that the UK may follow the same pattern and within a matter of weeks look to getting Britain back to business – even on a reduced basis. However, UK firms are in no doubt that post-Covid-19 working life will be very different from the one we experienced prior to Monday 23^rd March.

Businesses will need a strategy of how a phased return might work and start putting processes in place to facilitate their ‘comeback’. How you manage this return to work will depend largely on how your business has looked during ‘lockdown’. Perhaps you have operated fully from remote environments? Or more likely you have furloughed a proportion of your workforce and have a skeleton staff working from home. Have you closed entirely? However your business has looked over the past 6 weeks, here are some areas that you will need to consider when planning your return to work:

1. Firstly, agree a leadership team who will discuss and agree on a suitable return to work process.
2. Think about which staff you will bring back into the office. It has been suggested that schools might only return on a part-time basis so think about how this might affect working parents. Do you have staff who are classed as vulnerable? It might be best that they continue to either work from home or have an isolated area in the office. You will have hopefully seen that remote working is possible so perhaps consider keeping those that can work from home doing so and bring back furloughed workers. This will help to create a less crowed office and social distancing measures can be upheld.
3. Prepare your building – we all accept that as lockdown restrictions are reduced  - probably incrementally - we will continue to abide by social distancing rules for some time. Employees will need to sit at least 2m apart, so it might be a good time to think about how your infrastructure can support this physically and from an IT point of view. Consider surfaces and common areas (toilets, printers and meeting rooms) which will need to have almost continued cleaning and wiping down. Increase your cleaning roster if possible and delegate staff who can keep the areas clean (if this is not in their usual duties, think how they can be rewarded). It is vital that kitchens are kept clean and if your staff share the use of a fridge, consider how practical it would be if you made this area totally off-limits? Could staff be encouraged to bring food from home that doesn’t need to be in the fridge?  
4. It is likely that employees will remain anxious and worried about a return to work, travel and the possibility of being in closer contact with people from outside their immediate families. A wise move is to demonstrate to your employees that you are taking these concerns seriously and that your business is responding accordingly. Reassure colleagues by providing them with a ‘back to work’ information pack with guidelines to prevent infection and spread of the virus.
5. If you do not offer paid sick leave, perhaps consider a short-term relaxation of these policies. This will encourage employees to stay at home if they feel under the weather.
6. Stagger work start and finish times to lessen crowds in common areas and carparks. Flexible working will again lessen the footfall in the building at a particular time. Review your work entry protocols – do staff need to clock in physically or can this be done via a digital Time & Attendance solution or by fob? Speak to our team if you need some support here. Stagger staff breaks so that team members are not huddled together in staff rooms or common areas.
7. Think about how your staff travel to work; If you have a car share policy in place, now is the time to relax that in order to keep employees safe. Can you encourage a ‘cycle to work’ programme and provide an area for colleagues to freshen up and get changed?
8. Have a plan about how you will accept deliveries to your offices and how will you get rid of waste. Have a designated person who can sign and take parcels, opening them and disposing of the exterior packaging, before washing their hands and any areas that the parcels have come into contact with.

Although the Covid-19 outbreak has been an extremely challenging time for almost all businesses, think about what you have learnt from this episode and how you can better prepare should these circumstances ever arise again. Review your contingency plan, ask for feedback from your staff -furloughed and remote workers. What worked and what were your ‘weak spots’? What positives can you take? Perhaps video conferencing worked well for your client meetings and you can review if business trips and travel expenses can be lessened. Ask colleagues to share positive stories from their time in lockdown and how this time has shaped them. All of the above will give your return to work some structure and reassure your employees and customers that you are continuing to provide a safe environment for you to begin to build yourself back up again. Good luck.