Supporting Employees During The UK Petrol Crisis

As the UK enters the fifth day of petrol panic buying, after a BP executive’s concerns about how the lorry driver shortage could impact its ability to keep up with fuel deliveries were leaked, employees across the UK are struggling to refuel and travel to work.

This surge in demand has led the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) to publish that around two-thirds of its membership of outlets, totalling nearly 5,500, was out of fuel on Sunday, with the rest of them on the verge of “running out soon”.

Advice to employers on how to best support employees during the petrol crisis

Despite emergency measures being put in place by the Government and suppliers, it’s likely people will continue to be affected over the days ahead, meaning many of the country’s workers may be caught out and struggle to travel to work, particularly if they have a lengthy commute. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is said to be preparing to bring in the army’s support to help with fuel supplies, and many stations across the country have implemented a limit on how much petrol and diesel people can purchase.

As an employer, it’s crucial to maintain an open dialogue with your workers to be able to find the best possible outcome for those who are affected by the crisis. The simplest solution would be to encourage employees to revert to working from home if they are able to do so.

However, this may not be feasible for all, therefore, as an employer, you may want to consider alternative ways you can support your employees. For example, do any of your workers live within a close enough distance of each other to be able to carpool if one person has plenty of petrol? Or, is there a public transport alternative that you could assist your employee in navigating?

Something else that’s worth bearing in mind is if your employees need to travel for work – whether that’s for meetings, pitches or deliveries. In this scenario, it is advisable that you look through these journeys and work out whether any can be reorganised or minimised – or completed using public transport or via video conferencing software instead.

While there will be no ‘one size fits all’ approach, the need for good communication will inevitably be the key to ensuring your employees feel supported during this extraordinary time.