HR Responses to Coronavirus

11 March 2020

HR Responses to Corona Virus

Employers should observe all applicable pieces of legislation when responding to the threat of a pandemic. They should practice due diligence in ensuring their staff’s safety. Therefore, we have compiled the following HR responses to Coronavirus that your organization should watch out for.

Legal Concerns

HR departments should consider the provincial and federal legislation as they seek out workplace solutions to coronavirus. This includes occupational health and safety, workers’ compensation, employment standards, privacy, and human rights legislation.

Moreover, employers should consider their policies, benefit plans, employment contracts, collective agreements and the applicable legislation as the number of infection rises.  Additionally, employers need to be aware of the potential legal consequences if the overall situation escalates into pandemic levels of infection.

Due Diligence

Employers are required to take all reasonable precautions to prevent injuries or accidents in the workplace and in this case responding to Coronavirus, for instance:

  • Encourage good employee hygiene, particularly proper handwashing
  • Maintain good ventilation of workspaces
  • Promote cleanliness of any surfaces where the virus may hide
  • Encourage employees to seek out accurate, scientific information on coronavirus from reputable websites
  • Allow employees to work from home or in staggered shifts
  • Have up-to-date leave policies that encourage employees to stay home when they are sick

Communication

Finally, a good communication plan is vital for your organization as your staff are likely to panic, in distress and insecure about the future. They might search for answers on their own and often rely on what they can find, as a result,  they rely on inaccurate and sensationalized information.  Therefore, maintain good communication with employees when your organizations’ HR is responding to Coronavirus information. Sincron HR helps drive such vital communication throughout an organization via a singular powerful employee portal.  If you think your firm needs help in crafting a communication strategy, Sincron HR wants to hear from you. Use Sincron HR to build a better workplace.