Monthly Archives: November 2020

Apprenticeships, News

DA Techs invests in upskilling young, ambitious apprentice

Well-known alloy wheel repair company, DA Techs, is looking to the next generation of workers as the growing business takes on a young Digital Marketing Apprentice despite COVID’s impact on industry and recruitment.

The Lancashire-based company, which is also the first in the UK to provide a mobile alloy diamond repair service, has seen a continuous stream of work in recent months and so is using its stable position to take on talented, young individuals just starting out in their careers.

Elliot Makin, DA Tech’s latest recruit, will hold the role of Digital Marketing Apprentice – his responsibilities will range from improving DA Tech’s digital interaction with its clients to improve overall customer experience, to operating across the company’s social accounts and overseeing various advertorial campaigns.

DA Techs first connected with Elliot through reaching out to The Juice Academy, a digital marketing apprenticeship programme running in Manchester, where he is undertaking a Junior Content Producer Level 3 qualification having graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2020.

Jamie Baxter, Director at DA Techs, said: “These are tough times for young people across the country – recruitment levels are at an all time low, budgets are strapped and any potential plans of theirs for 2020 have been scuppered.

“Which is why it was so important to myself, and the rest of the team at DA Techs, that we take on someone like Elliot. A person who has the potential to develop his skill-set, advance his career journey and make a real impact to a company. We’re looking forward to welcoming Elliot and seeing all that he has to offer.”

Elliot added: “This is a really exciting step for me – moving from the student world to the professional world. Obviously, it’s a strange time to be onboarding but I’m grateful to the DA Techs team for providing me with this opportunity, and can’t wait to get stuck in.”

 

 

Construction, News

How a second lockdown will affect the UK construction industry

Marco Verdonkschot, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, has commented on the impact the second lockdown could have on the construction industry:

“With rising case numbers and hospital admissions, the announcement of a second national lockdown was perhaps inevitable, but businesses will be hit hard once again. However, the construction industry is exempt from workplace closures and this will hopefully allow recent signs of recovery to continue.

“Driven by increases in new work (17.5%), construction output rose by 3% in August (the latest data available) to nearly £12,500 million, marking the fourth successive month of growth for the industry. Such sustained growth is a healthy indicator of confidence returning to the sector, with companies across the UK willing to commission fresh projects. New private housing has been performing particularly well and will be boosted by the news that such work is unaffected by a second lockdown.

“The Prime Minister also announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until December, with employees still receiving 80% of their salary. While the number of construction workers on furlough has been dropping rapidly each month – the quickest proportionate decrease across all sectors – the latest data shows that there were still over 275,000 people on the scheme in July. Therefore, the extension of the funding will be greatly welcomed by many in the industry.

“Despite being able to continue operations, the second national lockdown will undoubtedly put extra strain on the construction industry and we may see the rate of recovery slow down further.

“However, the sector is proving to be incredibly resilient and has shown this year that it can rebound strongly after challenging setbacks. The government’s announcement at the weekend has given the industry a chance to continue its growth and hopefully it can end the year in a strong position.”

For more information about IronmongeryDirect, visit: www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/

News

Government urged to give regions greater power over skills and employment or risk ‘levelling down’ the chances of millions

The Government must give UK regional economies greater autonomy over skills and employment to develop grassroot recovery strategies – or risk levelling down the chances of millions, according to a new report published by City & Guilds Group.

Taking insight gathered from political and business leaders across six regions in England, the Act Now report uncovers the impact that Covid-19 has had on regional economies across the nation and highlights the challenges that each of these labour markets face, including unemployment, skills shortages, retracting industry sectors, the rise of Artificial Intelligence and growing skills gaps.

The report highlights that increased devolution is the only way to coherently address the differing priorities and challenges being faced across these regions.

Together with Mayoral Combined Authorities and businesses, City & Guilds Group has compiled a series of solutions to help bolster individual cities and regions, these include:

More autonomy over skills funding to deal with local skills and employment challenges – Government must devolve more skills funding to the regions, specifically to Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). They would ultimately be the ones responsible for administering the funding in a more targeted and effective way specific to the business profile in their region
Taking learning to the people – being more flexible about where people learn, be it digitally or in locations which are more practical and accessible
Creation of employment and training hubs in areas of high unemployment – a one-stop skills and jobs matching service for adults seeking employment, or for those in employment who might need to or want to upskill or retrain
Opening up funding to include any type of skills-based learning that leads towards a job – a more effective reallocation of Government funding to ensure more adults have access to Adult Training Allowance Loans to meet employer and labour market demand

The new findings suggest that as the nation looks towards recovery, each region is vulnerable to even higher levels of unemployment caused by factors such as AI disruption and skills gaps. 12.4% of the UK’s workforce are employed in occupations that are at high risk of automation and the North East is particularly vulnerable, with 50% or more of its tasks categorised as ‘highly automatable’.

In addition, the nationwide skills deficit continues to fuel concern across regional economies with under half (40%) of the UK’s population having achieved a Level 4 and above qualification (that is, having achieved any qualification above A-level) and almost one in ten (9.5%) having no formal educational qualifications at all.

Kirstie Donnelly, CEO of City & Guilds Group said:

“We spent the summer talking to local Governments and employers across the UK to understand what they need to help the unemployed back into work after the hammer blow of Covid19. The message that came back loud and clear was we can’t apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach if we want to successfully support people back into jobs. The challenges and solutions were often different in each area and Mayoral teams felt that they were not always enabled to act quickly and effectively enough with local solutions.

“In addition, much of the announced Government skills support is simply happening too late, we need urgent action and the immediate release of earmarked skills funding to help people retrain and reskill into new jobs.

“As we look to building a much needed post Covid19 recovery, we need to champion locally led solutions via a national network of Employment and Training Hubs. These localised and digitally enabled hubs would provide a ‘Shop Window for Skills’, making employment pathways more visible and accessible, and ultimately provide a platform which brings together local jobseekers, employers and training opportunities”.

The Act Now report was compiled following a series of in-depth roundtable discussions with a cross-section of Metropolitan Mayors and LEPs, regional business leaders and educators. The qualitative data was then analysed and cross-referenced against economic forecasting and analysis data from economists at EMSI.

Cleaning & Facilities Management, COVID-19, Healthcare News, News

Virus-killing coating offers a revolutionary solution for businesses in the fight against coronavirus

A revolutionary protective coating that is proven to kill bacteria and viruses – including some forms of coronavirus – for up to a year is now available for businesses across the UK.

Liquid Guard®, a single-application spray unlike anything currently available on the UK market, is easy to apply and will provide 12 months of protection on surfaces in just 6 hours.

Approved UK retailer, Protection Zone has brought the award-winning antimicrobial solution to the UK SME market to provide an effective and simple solution that will help people protect workplaces from the spread of common, and potentially life-threatening illnesses.

Liquid Guard®, works by creating an antimicrobial nano-coating on surfaces that will rupture germs cell walls, killing any bacteria, virus and fungi that come into contact with it.

The spray has passed more than 30 independent, internationally recognised tests and has been proven to kill some forms of coronavirus, Influenza A and E. coli. It is also currently undergoing tests against SARS-CoV-2 (commonly known as COVID-19) at one of Europe’s leading test laboratories.

Piran Littleton, Managing Director at Protection Zone said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to prioritise their health and safety in a way we’ve not seen in generations.

“Whilst Liquid Guard was developed in 2018, and has been used in larger commercial settings, the product was inaccessible for most people, which is why we felt it was important to bring this revolutionary product to a wider UK market in a form that can be easily applied within workplaces to create highly sanitised and disinfected environments. It’s ideal for offices, cafes, hairdressers and many other SME’s.

“Touchpoints, such as door handles, light switches or even toilets, are some of the most common ways that coronavirus and other common bacteria and viruses are spread, and with Liquid Guard you are able to eliminate this risk for a year in just one easy application.

“The spray is completely odourless and safe for human use and can be used on any non-porous surface. It’s simple to apply, long-lasting and can withstand everyday cleaning, continuing to protect for 12-months.”

Liquid Guard is a German Product Innovation award winner of 2019 and is manufactured by Nano-Care UK.

Piran continued: “What really sets Liquid Guard apart from anything else is the scientifically proven long-term results. The product has been independently tested to illustrate at least three years weathering resistance and high-level abrasion resistance.

“We’re really excited about the impact this could have and truly believe it could be a game changer in the fight against the spread of viruses and bacteria, including coronavirus.”

To find out more about Liquid Guard, or to purchase the product, visit: https://protectionzone.co.uk/

News, Software News

Local MP Alex Davies-Jones visits Cardiff-based safety and risk management company Alcumus

Alex Davies-Jones, the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd, made a socially distanced visit to Cardiff-based Alcumus, the UK’s leading provider of software-led risk management solutions on Friday 13th November.

The MP met with Alcumus CEO Alyn Franklin for an update on the company’s business outlook and its specialist insight on health and safety and supply chain resilience in Wales and the United Kingdom.

Alcumus, which was founded in 2009, is a provider of technology-led compliance and risk management solutions designed to create better workplaces and keep people safe. Alcumus serves more than 38,000 companies across the UK and employs over 600 people in its head office in Nantgarw, with additional offices in Manchester, Huddersfield and Stratford upon Avon, as well as Toronto in Canada.

During the visit, Mr Franklin briefed Ms Davies-Jones on Alcumus’ recent international and UK expansion. Alcumus acquired ContractorCheck, a specialist company in Canada providing health and safety pre-qualification and contractor management accreditation, and Banyard Solutions, developer of web-based permit-to-work solutions in the UK. These acquisitions strengthen Alcumus’ capability to support safer and healthier workplaces in both Europe and North America.

Alcumus also took the opportunity to brief Ms Davies-Jones, who sits in the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee, on the company’s recent contribution to the Government’s consultation on the National Data Strategy, which looks at ways in which the UK can become the world’s leading data-driven economy.

Given the local impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wales, Ms Davies-Jones was particularly interested in the impact of the pandemic on the business and how it has adapted to the effects of the outbreak.

The visit is part of a series of visits being undertaken by the Pontypridd MP to support the community and local businesses at a regional and central level.

Speaking after the visit, Alex Davies-Jones said: “Today more than ever, businesses in Wales and worldwide are facing increasing challenges in managing their health and safety and supply chain risks. I was impressed with the contribution that Alcumus is making to build better, safer and more sustainable workplaces across Wales and the UK.”.

“We were pleased to host Alex and to share with her our expertise in workplace safety and business resilience.  Companies across all sectors and of all sizes are now acutely aware of how important it is to ensure health and safety across workforce and supply chain, tackling substantial challenges from sustainability, to the impact of Brexit and of course the Coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the crisis we’re deeply committed to supporting our employees, the community and our customers with the resources to address risks, build business resilience and help create safer workplaces”, added Alcumus CEO, Alyn Franklin.

 

Business News, Travel

Egencia commits to building business traveler confidence with new risk management solution

Today, Egencia®, business travel management from Expedia Group™, launches Egencia Travel Advisor. This risk management enhancement provides on-demand access to alerts and advisories, such as changes to travel restrictions and self-quarantine policies that are rapidly evolving in every country. Integrated directly into the travel booking process, Travel Advisor gives travelers immediate access to alerts and advisories, so they can make confident choices about their travel plans and proactively prepare to travel.

The travel advisories will also help inform travel managers as they make critical business decisions to adjust policies in response to the loosening or tightening of in-country restrictions. Together with Egencia Traveler Tracker, which helps identify the location of travelers by city, country, region or an area on a global map, organizations can now quickly identify travelers who may be impacted by an unforeseen event based on their itinerary data, contact them immediately via email, push an emergency message to the mobile app and be reassured that the message was received via read receipts.

“As the ground routinely shifts for travel managers, travel advisories are table stakes. Egencia is taking a fundamentally different approach to supporting our customers’ risk management and their work to restore business travelers’ sense of wellbeing,” said Sergio Fierens, Senior Director, Technology at Egencia. “Travelers want to be confident in their travel decisions.  Egencia delivered a first-of-its-kind duty of care solution that contextually personalizes advisories, so travelers see the essential information they need without sacrificing their shopping experience.”

Travel Advisor provides guidance on entry restrictions and health documentation travelers need when arriving into a country, as well as the hygiene standards of their chosen hotel, car, air or rail provider. Having this essential information while booking a trip plays a key role in rebuilding the confidence of travelers and companies needing to get back to travel to support their business.

To further support travel managers as they navigate uncertainty, Egencia is also providing travel managers a business travel trend visualization tool.  Built using monthly global travel booking data and available to all travel managers, including those who are not Egencia customers, this tool helps travel managers make data-driven decisions about their return to business travel strategy. Travel managers can explore monthly corporate booking trends in a specific country or industry sector to understand how similar organizations are restarting their business travel programs, equipping them for conversations with their C-suite.

To find out more about Egencia Travel Advisor or to request a demo, please visit https://www.egencia.com/en/business-travel-trend-covid19.

Industry News, Software News

Signavio Launches CEX Edition and Training Academy to Accelerate Journey to Customer Excellence

Signavio, a leading provider of business transformation solutions, today announced the launch of Signavio Business Transformation Suite CEX Edition. Signavio’s new Customer Excellence Edition will empower organizations to turn customer obsession into operational reality, and the newly-launched Signavio Academy will provide their teams with the skills to drive this internal transformation.

Signavio’s CEX Edition leverages analytics and other next-gen techniques to identify critical customer interactions and the interdependencies between customer sentiment, moments of truth and underlying process operations. Its innovations include Signavio Journey Modeler, new software that enables organizations to understand and visualize the customer experience in a step by step journey, as well as new Process Intelligence tools that leverage data to unlock operational excellence.

Signavio Journey Modeler merges customer experience with process mining insights to discover which operational root causes are driving customer satisfaction or frustration. It allows organizations to connect journeys with processes, metrics, systems and roles and understand, improve and transform them. It also identifies process gaps that currently exist and drives the changes needed to delight customers at scale.

The new Process Intelligence capabilities include four analytics tools designed to support the individual needs of specific user groups throughout the analysis-to-insights lifecycle:

  • A new Process Oriented Analytics Language, SiGNAL, that allows an effective and scalable creation of process insights with dedicated process functions as easy as SQL
  • A cloud-based in-memory analytics engine – SiGNAL Mining Engine – that can analyze millions of business transactions in real-time
  • A Metrics Library that empowers business users without deep technical knowledge or expertise to leverage the computational power of SiGNAL
  • ETL Pipelines to simplify online and manual data acquisition with a unique process-mining oriented data model creation

Gero Decker, CEO of Signavio comments: “In the vast majority of organizations there is a major disconnect between their customer journeys and the underlying operational processes that support them.  This has led to the emergence of a new Customer Excellence category that demands a combination of innovative technology, such as our new CEX Edition, as well as specialized skills that our Signavio Academy will build.”

The Signavio Academy will accelerate the growth of the Customer Excellence category by upskilling thousands of process managers. The curriculum will focus on building the skills, techniques and approaches that are essential to success in a profession that is becoming more data-driven and customer-experience focused.

Decker continues: “Business leaders are starting to realize that redesigning processes is a highly effective way of driving change at scale. However, the true value is only unlocked through a combination of inside-out and outside-in thinking. The next generation of process experts will fuse data science with design thinking. It’s an exciting evolution that we hope to accelerate through the launch of our Academy.”

 

Additional Resources:

For more on Business Transformation Suite CEX edition:

https://www.signavio.com/customer-excellence/

 

Industry News, Networks, Tech Thought Leadership

Chris Martin: How A10 Networks is positioning the channel for growth, finding ways to incentivise partners

Written by Chris Martin, Channel leader for EMEA & SAARC, A10 Networks 

The rise in a globally dispersed workforce and new work-from-home requirements are placing extraordinary pressure on organisations’ networks. At the same time, COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation across many industries, with a shift towards hybrid and multi-cloud to service both customers and employees in this new environment.

These changes further underline the importance of operational efficiency, management, visibility and security for organisations. This is where A10 Networks and its channel partners can ensure customers’ datacentre applications and networks remain available, resilient and secure in the months ahead.

With a hundred percent of our business transacted through channel partners in EMEA, partners are central to

A10 Networks’ plans.  The channel is incredibly important to us and the pandemic has not affected our commitment nor our investment in the channel.  In fact, we have championed the channel in 2020, having made huge investments in our partner ecosystem and our Affinity Partner Programme over the last 12 months. As such we have focused on three key areas: education, engagement and deal registration and we currently have underway five key channel initiatives which include developing our distribution relationships, deal registration, partner ecosystem, organic leads and channel enablement.

Having said this, we are much more focused on certain key vertical sectors and as such we are looking to work with partners who have specialist vertical market capabilities.  In effect, we are looking to identify the right partners, addressing the right gap in the right vertical market.

 

Training and certification

Training is key to this enablement and A10 Networks is passionate about helping our partners obtain the technical certifications needed to help their customers navigate this new environment. We know it isn’t easy for a partner to focus on their own business, while ensuring their customers’ operations remain up and running. We therefore want to ensure that our partners are up to date on their certifications, to continue to be a trusted advisor to their customers.

We launched new sales and technical training certifications this year, free of charge and aligned with our new branding and latest products and solutions. For example, we now have Sales Associate Training and Technical Associate for Service Providers Training.

However, when it comes to partnering, we know one-size-doesn’t-fit-all. As mentioned earlier, we work with partners to understand their vertical expertise, their technical abilities and their strengths. We then formulate a joint business plan and establish KPIs so together we can best address customers’ needs.

 

Distribution is key to growth

Distribution is a part of this strategy – which is why we are working more closely with our distributor partners than we ever have before. We have doubled our distributor presence across our territories because we believe that partners need a choice. We have onboarded 11 new distributors in the last 18 months in EMEA and SAARC.

Whether the distributor is a dedicated, niche player or one with huge scale and resources, they all deliver their own value. We have established KPIs for distribution around recruiting partners, net new revenue, certification and lead generation. We are also working together with distribution on recruiting those quality partners I spoke about.

Another increased area of focus is deal registration. We are actively encouraging our partners to register leads in line with our business growth and the increasingly competitive business landscape.

 

Recognising partners and individuals who go above and beyond

We have also created a new channel awards programme, known as Elevate.   This is because we recognise that certain individuals and companies within our channel community go above and beyond to drive business with A10, and we wanted to reward their hard efforts. Starting from 2021, we will recognise both partners and individuals and categories for 2020 nominations include aspects such as the best financial performance, the best marketing campaign, the partners that provides the best technical support as well as individual nominations such as the best performing sales, technical and marketing person. Any member of the A10 channel community is eligible within EMEA and SAARC.

Likewise, we recognise that technical teams don’t always get rewarded for their contributions so we have created our ‘Tech Packs’ which provide a whole range of goodies that we are giving away to those techies who successfully complete certain certification levels.

 

Path to Platinum

Finally, we have created an initiative called Path to Platinum. This new programme is designed to accelerate our partners’ growth, and enable Bronze and Gold partners to achieve the highest accreditation in the A10 Networks Affinity Partner Programme

Importantly, we want to focus on certification, specialisation and commitment rather than solely judging a partner based on traditional run-rate revenue targets. If there is a partner that we are interested in developing a relationship with, we will talk about the level of discount we can offer, the support and how to build that relationship. With buy-in from both sides, we will create a bespoke plan to go out and win business together.

With the channel front and centre, we are expanding rapidly and winning new customers. These are businesses that have apps at the heart of their business, like Uber. Another is food delivery service takeaway.com, which needed to continue to service customers, despite the huge demand placed on their networks during COVID-19 enforced lockdown.

It has been a year of unprecedented momentum for our partners. Despite being faced with much uncertainty as we approach 2021, we know one thing for sure: A10 Networks will continue to expand and drive new business by putting the right incentives in place that deliver profitable and predictable business to our channel partners.

Food & Drink, Foodie News, North Wales

‘Stay loyal’ plea from Llangollen food store in support of rural businesses

THE way in which people shop for food and drink has changed forever following the events of 2020.

And Wayne Siddall, owner of Dee Valley Produce in Llangollen, hopes more customers will stay loyal to the local businesses that stepped up to support their communities during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Supported by Taste North East Wales – taking place online this autumn due to Covid-19 – consumers are being encouraged to keep buying from artisan and independent producers across the region rather than rushing back to the supermarkets.

Wayne is disappointed to have seen a drop-off in home deliveries after an initial surge in March but is thankful to those who stuck with the Denbighshire firm, which opened in 2007.

“We have been here in Llangollen for 13 years but never experienced anything like this before,” said Wayne, who runs the wholesale and retail firm with partner Samantha.

“We use as many local producers as we can and like them saw a big rise in the number of home deliveries during the first lockdown, while the pubs and hospitality side of the business completely shut down.

“At one point we were working from 7am until 9pm and had 60 orders a day, and as we were packing whatever people requested rather than set boxes it was very time consuming.”

He added: “But things are not like they were, on some days now we have less than 10 boxes out for delivery, which is disappointing.

“I would definitely encourage people to keep buying from local firms because we really need it, especially in the run up to Christmas and into 2021.

“Some of the house orders we were doing in the first lockdown have stayed with us but not many new ones have come back on, so business has been down by around 50%, especially during the ‘firebreak’ period here in Wales.

“A lot of people changed the way they approached food and drink and their weekly shop and have stuck with it, while others raced back to the big supermarkets.

“For those who have stayed with us we appreciate it and thank you – we will all get through this together and hope more customers will look to buy locally at what is a vital time for all industries.”

The second annual Taste North East Wales is taking place online this year after organisers Clwydian Range Food and Drink and Llangollen and Dee Valley Food and Drink, with the support of Cadwyn Clwyd, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB and the local authorities of Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire, decided to host a virtual celebration to ensure the health and safety of participants.

This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

Coordinators Robyn Lovelock and Jane Clough said shopping local and supporting local businesses is so important for many reasons.

“Firstly, we are keeping our towns and communities vibrant,” said Robyn.

“Small independent shops make for a great shopping experience and keep our communities alive. In better times it is a chance to meet friends and neighbours and develop a relationship with the people we are buying our food from.”

Jane added: “Successful shop keepers and producers will buy services from local tradespeople and money circulates in a sustainable way.

“Locally produced food and drink is great for environmental sustainability and food security. Reducing food miles plays a big part in reducing our carbon footprint and Covid-19 has shown how potentially fragile food chains can be when food is travelling long distances.

“When we buy locally directly from the producer we know how and where it is produced and that instils great confidence. Producing and consuming locally has so many positive benefits.”

For more on Taste North East Wales, follow them on social media @taste_blasu or email taste.blas@gmail.com.  Alternatively, visit the website: www.tastenortheastwales.org.

Visit www.facebook.com/deevalleyproduceltd or email deevalleyproduce@gmail.com for more on Dee Valley Produce.

Business Advice, Furlough, HR News

XpertHR helps employers understand the extended furlough scheme with new guidance and webinar

Following the recent Government announcement of the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 31 March 2021, XpertHR has published updated guidance and resources to help employers navigate the extended scheme.

The Government will cover 80% of furloughed employees’ pay for the hours they do not work, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. Employers will be responsible for paying the employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and auto-enrolment pension contributions.

The scheme will be reviewed in January 2021 to decide if economic circumstances are such that employers can contribute more from 1 February 2021.The ability to flexibly furlough employees will continue, so employees will be able to work part time – with employers paying employees in full for the hours they work.

Employers need to be aware too that the Job Retention Bonus of £1,000 has been withdrawn. The bonus would have been payable to employers in February 2021 for employees who had been furloughed but remained employed until 31 January 2021.

XpertHR ran a free webinar in November with employment lawyer, Darren Newman on the ‘Extended furlough and other workforce protection measures’ which employers can listen to for help reviewing their business models and understanding the steps they need to take to protect their workforce.

Darren guides employers through the extended scheme and other options, such as short-time working. He also discussed some of the employee relations challenges employers may be tackling, including managing employees who are required to self-isolate.

Jeya Thiruchelvam, Managing Editor at XpertHR says, “With England in lockdown and some restrictions likely throughout the winter, the extension of the furlough scheme is welcome news for employers. However, the last minute nature of the extension meant that by the time it was announced many employers had already spent considerable time planning how to transition employees from furlough to redundancy, or back to work, or onto the Job Support Scheme, in anticipation of the furlough scheme closing on 31 October 2020. Employers are currently struggling to stay on top of government guidance on the extended furlough scheme, which has been amended multiple times already. All our resources on the extended scheme reflect the latest guidance and can be relied on by employers to help them navigate the scheme.

XpertHR has over 150 COVID-19 resources which cover legal compliance and practical measures for HR managers. Its latest resources include model letters to help employers comply with the extended scheme rules as well as employment law:

Letter putting employee on flexible furlough following extension of scheme until March 2021

There are updated resources on shielding measures too. Although compulsory shielding has not been reintroduced in England, in the light of the increased number of COVID-19 cases and the latest lockdown the Government has “strongly advised” clinically extremely vulnerable employees to work from home, and if they cannot work from home they “should not attend work for this period of restrictions”.

Resources include advice on statutory sick pay and coronavirus, obligations an employer has to employee who lives with someone who is at high risk and the special measures employers have a duty to take to protect employees who are most at risk if they are exposed to coronavirus.

XpertHR also carries out regular surveys that give insight into how businesses are managing during the pandemic. The latest survey looks at the redundancy risk that still prevails for many, and how organisations’ plan for the return to workplaces.

For more information on XpertHR visit: www.xperthr.co.uk