Employers across the State are busy implementing contingency plans as they seek to contend with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The reality is that they have been looking at this for the past few weeks,” says Ibec’s director of employer relations Maeve McElwee.
“Employers have been tracking it for quite some time at a lower level since mid-January. We have been talking to them about contingency planning and the arrangements they need to have in place.”
That engagement has spanned all sectors.
“We have seen employers going through various steps to prepare for it in advance,” she says. “They have been asking themselves what they can do and what more steps they can take. They have been looking at things like centralised communications, who is going to speak to staff, making sure that lines of communication remain open with suppliers and so on.”
The unique nature of this situation makes it particularly difficult to deal with, she explains.
“You can plan for an emergency like a weather event. A storm will last for three days or so, for example, and anything where labour availability is involved can be planned for. You can look at what the key critical skills required are and have contingency plans in place to make sure they remain available. But this is different. Even where employers doing sensible things like shift segregation to isolate people from each other, they have no control over what happens externally. That introduces real complexity into workforce planning.”
Frontline industries
This is particularly the case for what she describes as the frontline industries: aviation, tourism and hospitality.
“They are in a different place when it comes to their response,” says McElwee. “There is no work for them in many cases. Restaurants are seeing mass cancellations and people are not flying anywhere. They are looking at all options such as other work that needs to be done. They are trying to keep people gainfully employed for as long as they can. We see people doing things like painting and cleaning, and employees have been incredibly co-operative because they understand that everyone is just doing their best.”
What employers can and will do to the greatest extent they possibly can is try to protect their employees' incomes
That will only last so long and she believes layoffs and even redundancies are inevitable. “We have been seeing empty restaurants for the past while. The tourism and hospitality sector is coming into a very important period for revenue and cash flow and they are losing out on that.”
The sector's supply chains are also suffering. "We have tended to think of supply chains in terms of access to supplies coming in from China and other affected countries. But we haven't really thought about the loss of business for suppliers as a result of a fall-off in demand. That affects businesses like laundries, cleaning supplies, primary food producers, everything. It will have a significant economic impact.
“What employers can and will do to the greatest extent they possibly can is try to protect their employees’ incomes,” she adds. “We have engaged with Government and with ICTU on this, and employers will do all that they can in that respect. But certain sectors won’t be able to.”
Fall back
Some sectors are able to fall back on their contingency plans. “They have put the technology and training in place to enable people to work remotely and keep the business running, keep the economy going and ensure people have an income,” says McElwee. “They are also looking at things like flexible shift patterns and rosters so that one parent can stay at home to look after children at the times they need to. They are also arranging shifts to facilitate social distancing. They are supporting employees through sick pay schemes and topping up the State payments to full pay when they can afford to. Of course, that will depend on how long it goes on.”
What is important now is that we all continue to do the best we can and do it with a generosity of spirit
The other challenge for employers is when significant numbers of workers get sick or are in self-isolation. “This is something they wouldn’t have had to contend with before now,” McElwee notes. “In a small business, just two or three members of staff missing might cause a shutdown.”
She says there is an appreciation for the supports put in place by the Government in relation to sick pay and other aspects of the crisis.
"Dr Tony Holohan and his team have done an incredible job. They have given very clear information throughout. The response from the whole of society has been great. What is important now is that we all continue to do the best we can and do it with a generosity of spirit.
“We should all follow the advice from the public health authorities in terms of washing our hands, respiratory hygiene, and facilitating flexible and home working. The response from the vast majority of people has been amazing and that has been great to see.”