As global jurisdictions begin to ease lockdown arrangements, employers face a new reality, one in which businesses must transform and evolve to adapt to the economic and worksite challenges that the novel pandemic known as COVID-19 has created.

This checklist looks at the steps employers across the world should be starting to take now to prepare for a partial or full return to work and highlights the likely short-term and long-term business issues and challenges and opportunities for change.

Not every item listed will be applicable to all employers in all jurisdictions. However, we hope that this checklist will provide employers with a framework for prioritizing their next steps and preparing for the lockdowns to be eased further and/or lifted.

01. START YOUR PLANNING NOW

  • Keep tabs on available assistance from the government, such as wage subsidies, and incorporate such assistance into your plan, particularly the timeline for the cessation of any assistance/subsidy (which may be extended). Early planning will help minimize the risk of having to make decisions in a hurry.
  • Plan communications with your workforce. Individual employees may have different challenges arising from a return to work (e.g., if furloughed) or from a return to the workplace (e.g., if working from home) and the process of getting employees back to work will require careful thought.
  • Organize, as far as possible, a thoughtful and efficient return to work. Being ahead of the curve may be critical in enabling businesses to survive or potentially thrive at the expense of competitors.
  • Consider in advance how you will address return-to-work concerns raised by employees with special health circumstances (e.g., employees who have been identified as being at higher risk for contracting the virus) and employees with childcare issues (e.g., to the extent schools and camps do not reopen).
  • Review and rethink policies regarding mobile workers, cross-border assignments, and travel. Near-term issues will include how to phase in international travel when the potential for new travel restrictions, if the virus resurges, remains unpredictable.
  • Review employer-sponsored benefit plans to determine whether any amendments or changes in operation are necessary or desirable given changes in applicable law and employer considerations (e.g., cost saving measures).
  • In the US, liberalized deadlines for employee action under benefit programs, as well as other changes in law, make it imperative that employers review and update certain employee communications, such as US COBRA notices and documentation relating to ERISA plan claims and appeals procedures, to reflect such changes, as well as any additional amendments made by the employer.

02. SHORT-TERM STAFF PLANNING

  • Consider the issues which may arise on a transitional basis as employees return to work:
    • Staff who had or may have COVID-19: Identify those who have been infected and determine when it is safe for them to return to the office. Potential discrimination issues may arise, alongside data protection issues (e.g., under the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") or local data pro-tection legislation). Careful planning and messaging will be required.
    • Dividing/rotating staff: Investigate whether it is possible to divide employees into teams and rotate teams in and out of the requirement to come into the office to work. This will not work for all businesses, but, if feasible, we recommend it as a transitional step that employees likely will view favorably as well. It also may reduce the risk that an entire department or floor contracts the virus at the same time.
    • " Underused staff: Following your analysis of the business, you may wish to retain staff in certain categories, even though they are underused initially. Make this clear to the employees concerned, otherwise there is a risk that the staff who stay are disengaged or will be more likely to leave for employers with clearer statements about the future.
    • Overworked staff: There may be certain areas in the business' workforce that are extremely busy as the business gets back up to speed again. This should be addressed with careful messaging to the overworked staff so they understand it is a part of the transition process.
    • Annual leave/vacation/PTO (Paid Time Off in the US): Assess how best to handle annual leave for your business. Subject to local laws, employers who do not take any steps to encourage or require employees to take holiday during this lockdown period may be faced with an influx of requests to use annual leave during the remainder of the calendar year. Consider approaching annual leave on a company-wide basis by setting out clear communications about the employer's expectations and how you are going to address competing demands for holiday/vacation fairly to ensure an effective return to work.
    • All short-term proposals: Explain all proposals carefully to staff, e.g., why the employer has taken this approach, how it will work and whether there will be exceptions to the rule. This will require careful consideration and cannot be done in haste.

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Originally published 3 June, 2020

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