Over the past year, employers have navigated challenging employment law matters. These include decisions to stand down employees – with or without pay – and make redundancies in order to reduce staff numbers. Some of these difficult decisions were made for businesses as a result of Government-mandated shut downs of non-essential services, whereas other difficult decisions were avoided due to the impact of Government COVID-19 assistance, such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs in Australia. Many businesses took cost saving measures, including directing employees to take annual leave, or reductions or deferrals in employee salaries. Even when businesses settled into a ‘new normal’ of remote and flexible working, issues such as creating safe and private home workplaces, productivity failures, and technological difficulties and access, created ‘trying times’ for businesses. 

Where Are We Now?

With some semblance of normality on the horizon, businesses are facing a new set of challenges. These include the ending or reduction in various Government assistance programs, an altered marketplace, and some adherence to flexible working in the medium to long term. Businesses are facing more than just temporary structural changes – instead, many are facing a ‘new normal’ of hybrid workplaces. Hybrid workplaces are the epitome of flexible working arrangements, which sees some employees working onsite, while others are working remotely. 

New Employer Obligations

This also leads to new Work, Health and Safety risks and considerations. Firstly, of course, is continuing to implement local laws and WHO guidance on hygiene, social distancing, and travel. While public health and safety becomes less emphasised and we begin to again hold larger events in closer contact, a close finger must be kept on changing laws to ensure that your business remains in compliance. Secondly is the continuing obligation to ensure safe work places for those that are continuing to work remotely, as well as continued attention to the mental health of your employees, many of whom are coming out of a very difficult year. 

In addition to these clear obligations, employers now face additional responsibilities. These include the creation of a fair workplace for employees who are both in and out of the office. This means that those who may not be physically present are afforded the same opportunities as those who are. This also means that flexible working arrangements are available equally to employees. 

There are also new trade-offs that employers have to make, such as deciding whether and to what extent to implement surveillance software for those that are working remotely. While this technology can assist in identifying employees that are struggling from home, it also opens the business up to privacy considerations, and reduces the level of trust present within a business. 

Moving Forward

While it would have been difficult to predict these new challenges at the outset of the pandemic, it is clear that human resources offices across the world are facing a myriad of considerations. Balancing the interests of individual employees, the business as a whole, and the public health context is no small task. However, this too may be a ‘new normal’ for employment landscapes. 

 

TIME BUSINESS NEWS