A straw poll conducted by local solicitors Ashtons Legal suggests that only 13% of businesses have seen their revenue unaffected by the pandemic. Forty-three percent think it will take them between seven and 12 months to get their revenue back to normal levels while a further 20% believe it will take them over a year. The survey also revealed that 86% feel their businesses will be increasingly willing to allow regular home working when we enter the ‘new normal’ phase as the pandemic recedes.
The survey took place during a free ‘Returning to Work in a COVID19 era’ webinar hosted by employment lawyer Jessica Piper and HR consultant Lucy Pakes. The webinar was seen live by over 100 business people across the region and remains available online for others to view.
Ashtons HR Consulting also carried out a twitter poll the previous week on the issue of working from home, with an even higher result. Ninety-one percent of respondents felt that their business would continue with more home working in the future.
Ashtons is one of many professional services firms across the region that has continued to provide a full service to clients by making effective use of a range of video-conferencing technologies to suit the individuals’ needs and is using webinars to communicate with a wider commercial audience.
Jessica Piper comments: “Businesses are facing a wide variety of different challenges in providing their employees with a safe return to work but all those attending our webinar were asking questions that suggest they are committed to getting it right.”
Lucy Pakes from Ashtons HR Consulting adds: “We are also seeing an array of questions around the interaction between furlough leave, holiday pay and redundancy. Bringing people back to work in a cost-effective but compliant way at the time that best suits their business is currently a priority for most.”
Anyone wishing to sign up for future Ashtons’ webinars or wishing to view those already recorded can do so at www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/events/webinars .