Leicester In Lockdown – What Does It Mean For Employers?

On Monday (29th June), the Government announced that further lockdown measures would be re-introduced in Leicester and some surrounding areas.

Amongst the measures was a requirement that within the lockdown area non-essential retail was not permitted to open from yesterday (Tuesday) and non-essential travel is not permitted. Schools in the lockdown area will close for pupils, other than children of keyworkers and vulnerable groups, from tomorrow (Thursday).

As with the initial lockdown, it is not clear whether travel for work (where work cannot be done from home) is considered essential. This was clarified previously and we assume the same applies now.

The announcement also confirmed that planned re-openings in the hospitality and other sectors will not happen on 4th July.

These measures will be reviewed on or after 18th July.

Employers have a tough job trying to interpret these measures and work out what it means for their operations and their team.

Leicester lockdown – guidance for employers

Across the country, the starting position is still, if employees can work from home, they should continue to do so and so this still applies in the Leicester lockdown area.

If work cannot be done from home, then employees should continue to attend work as they have been doing. There has been no guidance as yet to indicate otherwise. Employers should seek to reassure any employees that are concerned about attending work at the moment and it may be useful to review and refresh COVID-19 secure risk assessments and share these with your teams.

Where employers can no longer re-open their operations as planned at the weekend, or where non-essential retailers have closed immediately, they can consider re-using the furlough scheme for any employees that are no longer required. This can be on a full time or part time basis, depending on the employer’s requirements.

Furlough is available for any employer that previously accessed the scheme, in respect of any employee who has been previously furloughed on the scheme for at least three weeks (at any point since it was introduced in March), as well as employees returning from various forms of parental leave and returning military reservists.

If new employees have been recruited for re-openings, employers will need to consider seeking their agreement to vary start dates or withdrawing job offers.

Employers should also check in with employees who may have their childcare arrangements affected by the re-closure of schools. Again these employees can be furloughed providing the above criteria is met.

If accessing the furlough scheme again, employers need to make sure they have written agreements (either new or refreshed versions) with employees and keep records of what is agreed. These will need to reflect whether furlough is full time or whether the arrangements will be flexible.

Comment

These are extremely difficult times for employers in Leicester and the financial impact of these further measures is likely to be significant. Employers should take steps now to communicate with their teams, whilst monitoring reliable news sources for updates and further detail.

The Government guidance can be accessed here.