Since we last updated you the number of confirmed Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the UK has risen to 163. The UK Chief Medical Officers have maintained the risk to the public as moderate and the risks to individuals remains low.
Whilst the situation is evolving, our priorities continue to be the welfare of our employees, students and clients, and continuing to deliver our services. We have a core team in place who are monitoring the situation to ensure business continuity plans are actioned as appropriate.
Overseas business travel – if you have business related plans to travel overseas between now and June, please note the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently advising against travel to any of the affected areas unless it is essential. We do not regard business travel to these locations as essential and should not be undertaken. For other regions and countries please to speak to your manager about the business need for this travel to take place and make appropriate changes or supporting arrangements. If you have any concerns, please talk to your line manager or contact HR Service Desk.
Events - across GC, we deliver a wide range of conferences and events – including internal workshops, networking and training sessions. Much of this activity is core to the delivery of our services and these should continue. We will, however, take additional precautionary measures and further practical guidance on events will be shared next week.
Utilising agile working
We are already operating agile work practices and should make full use of these arrangements. For example, if you are conducting internal meetings these can be done virtually and also explore whether you can utilise Skype or other business platforms to continue to deliver services more remotely. Here is some guidance on how to make the most of the available technology to support agile working. If you can work in an agile way but for any reasons are unable to, please email the HR Service Desk for further guidance.
Personal travel – as part of our plans to manage business risk, we are asking you to provide us with details of any personal overseas travel plans from now until the end of June. Please complete this two-minute survey as soon as possible. This is important information that will give us oversight of colleagues who are travelling to and returning from overseas. It will ensure we have appropriate measures in place to exercise our duty of care and minimise the risk to our colleagues, students and clients.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently advising against travel to any of the affected areas, unless it is essential. If you choose to travel to these areas and then are unable to work due to self-isolation this may result in unpaid leave being taken. For the most up-to-date travel advice please refer to Visit Britain for further information for tourism businesses, whilst travel advice for concerned visitors is regularly updated by the UK Government.
Self-isolation – If you need to self-isolate, you should notify your line manager of your situation immediately, who will need to complete this form and send to the HR Service Desk. If you’re in a role that enables you to work remotely you should seek agreement with your manager to work from home during this period. Where working remotely is not possible, line managers will need to escalate the matter to the relevant SMT member who will decide on the appropriate course of action.
In the event that you are working remotely and you become ill during the self-isolation period, you should follow the NHS guidance and advise your manager who will then record your absence as sickness in the normal way on Unit 4.
If you are particularly concerned about the spread of the virus due to having underlying health issues, please speak to your line manager and contact the HR Service Desk. We will review these on a case by case basis and put any appropriate measures in place.
We want to reassure you that the above and other actions we are putting in place are precautionary measures to ensure individual welfare and continued service delivery. You should not be unduly concerned but familiarise yourself with the latest guidance and take a common-sense approach to personal hygiene e.g. regularly washing your hands with soap and water, using hand sanitiser only if soap and water isn’t available.
This is an evolving situation and we will continue to keep you informed.
Mark Hughes
Group Chief Executive