When bringing employees back to work from furlough it’s important to put in some measures to ensure the process is smooth and to avoid potential issues. We discuss some approaches to managing this process to make sure your business and your employees remain happy and safe.
Who to bring back?
Deciding what employees to bring back from furlough is predominantly a business decision, which employees are needed in the business should be easy to identify. There might be occasions where a few or many employees have the same role but due to the work available you only need some of them to come back into the business. In this situation we recommend contacting the employees and asking them if they would like to come back or if any of them have a reason why they do not want to come back to work. Some employees may have childcare issue or vulnerable family members, it’s important to consider these factors when bringing employees back from furlough.
Keep them informed
When you have decided to bring an employee back from furlough it’s important to give them a period of notice so they can make arrangements and prepare to come back to work. If you set out a time agreement when an employee went on furlough its important to keep to that agreed time frame. Employees should also be made aware of any business updates, new procedures that have been introduced during their time off and any new social distancing measures. During this process any concerns an employee has should be discussed and addressed to make sure everyone is happy with the process.
Easing employees back
When bringing employees back into the business it’s important to ease them into the workplace and provide any training they might need to get back up to speed. Some employees may have been off work for an extended period of time. If possible and based on business needs you could consider easing them back into work using flexible furlough, so they don’t need to work full time straight away.
Considering working from home
Where possible whilst the pandemic is still at large the government recommends employees work from home. We suggest taking this route in order to minimise contacts between staff when bringing furloughed employees back into the business. If the job cannot be performed from home, we advise making sure employees keep socially distanced and wear the appropriate PPE.
Flexible Furlough
Flexible furlough has been introduced to allow businesses to be able to manage the varying business demands during the pandemic. Employees can now be furloughed on a flexible basis which allows them to work some hours then go back to being furloughed again when the business requires. This is helping businesses who are struggling to save money by having a flexible workforce. For more information on the flexible furlough we suggest visiting the government website.
