Coronavirus: What employers need to know (webinar)

As the true impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic becomes apparent, employers are facing unprecedented challenges in protecting their staff and customers while, if possible, maintaining operations.

Do you have to pay someone who is self-isolating? What do employees need to work from home effectively? What if an employee decides they don’t want to risk coming to work?

The number of questions is huge and it is HR professionals, and their colleagues in occupational health, who are expected to have all the answers.

What happens to employees in sectors affected most by the outbreak? How will the already understaffed NHS cope with demand while facing increased sickness absence among nurses and doctors? What can businesses do when faced with a sudden drop in demand?

In this special, extended Personnel Today webinar, editor Rob Moss is joined by four experts, ready to answer your questions on all aspects of how the coronavirus is affecting employers.

The panel comprises: the CIPD’s lead for employee relations, Rachel Suff; Kevin Charles, consulting barrister at Crossland Employment Solicitors; Fiona King, chief operating officer at the Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing; and Stuart Duff, business psychologist at Pearn Kandola.

Watch this webinar to:

• Learn how best to manage their workforce in the light of Covid-19
• Understand the options open to them when dealing with staff
• Learn about the privacy considerations for a staff member with coronavirus
• Develop strategies to minimise disruption and maintain business as usual.

This 90-minute webinar will include short presentations by our speakers followed by an extended question and answer session. You can submit one question upon registration and ask questions during the webinar.

Available on-demand now

About our speakers

Kevin Charles was called to the Bar in 1996. He spent several years working as in-house counsel, where he advised corporate clients across on employment law and industrial relations, representing clients at tribunal across the country. Kevin then spent time in private practice representing both individual and corporate clients. He became a director of Crossland Employment Solicitors in 2009 and, since 2017, he is now a consulting barrister to the firm. He has previously sat on the Employment Lawyers’ Association’s training committee.

Rachel Suff leads on the CIPD’s public policy work for employment relations and health and wellbeing, and is a policy and research professional with over 20 years’ experience in the employment and HR arena. She has recently led a range of policy and research studies about health and wellbeing at work, including the CIPD/Simplyhealth’s annual health and well-being at work survey report and represents the CIPD on key government and external advisory groups. Rachel’s previous roles include working as a senior policy adviser at Acas.

Fiona King is chief operating officer at the Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing. She qualified in 1995 as a registered general nurse in Ireland before specialising in health and safety and occupational health. In Fiona’s current position at HS2 she is pioneering health strategies in the construction sector to improve health outcomes for the individuals working there. Fiona is an engaging OH leader which drives her passion in enabling people to remain or return to work following illness and injury.

Stuart Duff is a partner and head of development at Pearn Kandola. He is a chartered business psychologist who specialises in management development, leadership and coaching. He specialises in identifying leadership talent, developing potential through one-to-one coaching and designing innovative development tools. In recent weeks he has been advising leaders who might find themselves heading up a remote workforce. Before joining Pearn Kandola, Stuart was a senior manager in the HR strategy business group at Deloitte.

Available on-demand now

This webinar was first broadcast on Thursday 19 March 2020, 11:30am GMT