‘Make certain your business is ready to trade securely and legally when lockdown is lifted.‘ This is the message from franchising expert Fiona Boswell, a partner with law firm Knights PLC.
With the Prime Minister confirming on Monday that the Government’s ‘roadmap’ will continue as planned, I’ll be using my April column to advise SMEs and franchise businesses on how they should proceed over the coming weeks. Those companies which were forced to shut down – some on more than one occasion already – will be chomping at the bit to reopen.
Emerging from lockdown should be a moment for franchise businesses to savour and celebrate, but it certainly won’t be plain sailing when it finally happens. Among those sectors to have suffered badly during the past 12 months are retail, leisure and entertainment.
April 12th, May 17th and June 21st, are three dates entrenched in many people’s brains, yet there are a number of issues which businesses will need to consider, before reopening. I will now flag up some serious points which will hopefully help SME owners, going forward.
1 – Planning for future growth
Can your business function without returning to premises? And is there a Covid-secure space to work?
If not, are you taking the necessary steps to make it Covid-secure, while not compromising typical Health and Safety measures?
2 – Protecting your people
Which staff members are returning to work and why?
To consider:
- Which members of your Head Office team, or franchised branch, are necessary in order for the business to reopen and function?
- Do you know if there are rules which need to be followed when selecting staff members for removing from the furlough scheme?
- Have you taken into consideration childcare issues? Is public transport necessary for their commute? Is their partner a key worker?
- You may discover that staff members will object to sharing health information about themselves and their families. And will GDPR issues arise as a result?
- To satisfy rules and regulations, as well as personal concerns within the workforce, are you arranging flexible shift patterns?
- Will you need to amend employment contracts?
- Are members of your workforce part of a trade union? And what advice are they issuing to their paid up members?
3 – Premises based franchises
When will you be remobilising your building or buildings? Do you have a timetable for reopening? Have you allowed sufficient time to ensure that your premises are Covid-secure?
- Check and test your electrical equipment.
- Who will sanitise the workplace and shared spaces, and how often?
- Will you be implementing a protocol for the use and access of shared spaces in your building? These may include reception areas, elevators, stairwells, toilets.
- Have you undertaken a risk assessment for such spaces?
- Who is responsible for re-training the workforce? Best practice is to re-induct staff members with Covid-secure measures.
- Are social-distancing measures in place ahead of reopening? And how will you ensure they are not breached?
- Will you provide guidance on these issues, such as instructing staff to avoid visiting colleagues at their desks, or using small, badly ventilated rooms for meetings?
- Have you notified your insurers of any risk assessments that were carried out?
- Are the subsequent measures you have implemented backed by legislation, rather than just decided by ‘common sense’?
4 – Operational considerations
Is the building you use ready for the return of your staff? Regardless of whether you own or rent these premises, there are plenty of preparations to consider.
- Do you have clean water? Test against the legionnaires bacteria.
- Test the fire alarms in readiness for returning staff.
- Inspect air flow, so that it satisfies latest guidance. This means checking the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
- Don’t forget to provide office or warehouse temperature requirements, as laid down by law.
- With a reduction in capacity, are your social distancing measures correct?
- How will you use outdoor space?
- Are all maintenance schedules, such as elevators and lifts, up to date?
- Do you have security officers in place to administer and potentially enforce Government ‘rules’?
- Is all relevant signage relating to Covid-19 displayed correctly?
- Do you have ample sanitisation products for use, and situated in appropriate locations?
5 – Maintaining data
Depending on the type of data you collect and store, you may need to consider the following:
- Will you require Covid passports or will staff need to undergo Covid-testing before they are permitted to enter a building?
- Are you being transparent with employees, franchisees and customers about how data will be stored and for how long?
- Do you actually need to store data or is it to be used just once – such as determining whether a person can be allowed entry into a building or not?
- Will data be held securely?
6 – Track and trace
What records are you keeping, with regards to who is on the premises at any given time? And who do they have contact with during a typical working day?
- If an employee has tested positive, how much information will you be sharing with other members of staff and especially those who may have come into contact with this person?
- Are you planning to ask employees if they will declare if any member of their household has displayed Covid symptoms?
- And have you considered the data protection implications of all this?
- Will you insist on franchisees and/or customers declaring whether they have had the vaccine or not? And how will your business respond to those who have not yet been given the vaccine?
7 – Supply chain
Have you checked that your process is Covid-secure?
- Are deliveries putting your staff, network or customers at risk? And what procedures do you have in place to protect all parties?
- Are your suppliers up and running, and at the same advanced stage as you are with regards to trading again, as well as their legal requirements during the pandemic?
- Do you have other options should there be a delay in your supply chain? This applies to Brexit as much as Covid!
- Do you still need all your regular supplies?
- Are you fulfilling the role of a supply chain yourself? Are you a supplier for your franchisees?
8 – Customer engagement
Have you established protocols for your networks when engaging with customers?
- Do you have a visitor registration protocol in place to ensure track and trace can operate efficiently?
- Do your visitors know what to expect?
- Does your GDPR policy include public data capture?
- How are you communicating risk assessments, regarding Covid-19 security?
- Have you taken into account the latest Government guidelines when carrying out your risk assessments?
- If your networks are providing services in third party premises, are these buildings Covid-secure and are the networks aware of what they must do to adhere to the guidelines and rules.
You should not consider this article as being a comprehensive statement of the law and therefore should contact us with any specific queries.
Note: Many franchise businesses are facing the challenge of how to reopen safely and legally. They must protect employees, networks, customers and future growth of the company. Good preparation, along with specialist advice and guidance on compliance, are important. If you require any further information, please contact us.
