Businesses of all sizes and in every different sector of the UK have been challenged by the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent shutdown.
While most are hoping to get back to normal sooner rather than later, many businesses are faced with major restructuring and the potential of redundancies for some staff to keep operating viably and survive over the next few years.
At Forster Dean, we are offering legal advice for businesses that are going through urgent restructuring and how employment law may affect this.
Challenges Businesses Face Post Covid-19
There are many different hurdles to overcome as businesses move towards reopening after the lockdown eases. Many may have employees who have been furloughed and are on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. There are issues about which employees return to work and those that need to remain on furlough.
Keeping all staff on the payroll could prove difficult for businesses as they try to balance survival against the needs of their employees. Some workers may not want to return just yet because they are either afraid of the virus or because they have an underlying health condition.
There are issues over how businesses operate and what safety measures need to put in to meet legal obligations. A company may also want to take staff back but on reduced hours or pay and so need to get their agreement before they implement this kind of change.
Restructuring Your Business
Restructuring post-Coronavirus will depend on what type of business you run. If you run an office, you may still be able to have some employees working from home while having a skeleton crew coming in each day which gives you more flexibility.
Restructuring may mean some employees taking on new jobs or filling in areas where there is a need. If you recognise a trade union, changes may require significant negotiation before things can get moving. Even if you don’t have a trade union to deal with, you’ll need to get buy-in from all your employees.
While most businesses are trying to avoid laying off staff, it’s something that is going to be a huge issue across all sectors and industries. Getting your business restructuring and employment law absolutely right is going to be essential to avoid future complaints or legal action.
Working with Forster Dean Solicitors
Forster Dean is a North West firm of solicitors with offices in Widnes, St Helens and Runcorn. We are experts in employment law of all types and offer our services to both employers and employees.
Restructuring your business is likely to be a complicated process but one which needs to be approached with a sense of urgency in the current pandemic crisis. Ideally, we’d all like things to go back to normal but many businesses are facing staff cuts and a reduced operational approach that brings in less revenue.
This could last many more months. Indeed, for a lot of businesses, it could be several years before they are back up and running at their pre-Covid-19 capacity. If your business does now need to consider redundancies or major restructuring, our expert team will help you stay on the right side of employment law.
Contact us today to find out more.