minimise disruption from COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting the global economy and businesses everywhere. Like others affected by this development, your organisation faces an unprecedented challenge with managing your workforce. As a partner to employers around the world, we’re ready to continue supporting your goals and providing the expertise, advisory services and best practices to help your organisation weather this worldwide emergency.
 

what you can expect from us.

During this COVID-19 outbreak, we have been working hard to ensure a continuation of service to you. 

Our priority, like yours, is to contain the spread of the virus by keeping all our staff, temporary workers and contractors as safe as possible whilst minimising disruption to businesses. As such, we have activated our Business Continuity Plan and a managing COVID-19 guide that will help steer our employees, contractors and candidates. 

For all our offices, in particular our CBD offices of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Parramatta, we are asking our staff to work from home in a 50% split roster. All internal and external meetings with clients and candidates must be conducted virtually. 

your questions answered.

Like many organisations in Australia, you may have questions about business risks in the event of unseen workforce contingencies. How can you ensure your business meets legal and contractual obligations in a rapidly evolving world of work and regulatory environment?  

We have developed a list of Q&As below to help provide answers and resources you should review to help your company minimise risks, adopt best practices and stay informed throughout rapid market changes around the world.

faqs.

  • What is COVID-19 and what are the symptoms to look out for?

    COVID-19 is a type of virus. Typical symptoms include fever and a cough that may progress to severe pneumonia, causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Please rest assured that having these symptoms does not necessarily mean you have the virus. 

  • What can you do to protect yourself and other employees?

    At this stage, we do not know how the virus spreads from person to person. There are steps you can take to help avoid catching (and spreading) germs: 

    • stay at home if you are unwell.
    • cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
    • put used tissues in the bin immediately.
    • wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
    • try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
    • do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.
    • please contact your manager if you are unwell.
  • What are the guidelines if you have an underlying medical condition or you’re pregnant?

    At this stage, we do not know how the virus spreads from person to person. There are steps you can take to help avoid catching (and spreading) germs: 

    • stay at home if you are unwell.
    • cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze.
    • put used tissues in the bin immediately.
    • wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
    • try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
    • do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.
    • please contact your manager if you are unwell.
  • How do I practice social distancing?

    Social distancing is an effective measure, but it is recognised that it cannot be practised in all situations and the aim is to generally reduce potential for transmission.

    While practising social distancing, people can travel to work (including public transport). For non-essential activities outside the workplace or attendance at schools, universities and childcare - social distancing includes:

    • avoiding crowds and mass gatherings where it is difficult to keep the
    • appropriate distance away from others
    • avoiding small gatherings in enclosed spaces, for example family celebrations
    • attempting to keep a distance of 1.5 metres between themselves and
    • other people where possible, for example when they are out and about in public place.
    • avoiding shaking hands, hugging, or kissing other people.
    • avoiding visiting vulnerable people, such as those in aged care facilities or hospitals, infants, or people with compromised immune systems due to illness or medical treatment.
  • What is your view on HR Partner's ability to continue to supply clients with workforce services over the coming months?

    Like most companies, HR Partners maintains a Business Continuity team focused on maintaining all aspects of our business functions related to the COVID-19 virus and its impact. In the current business environment, we have established protocols following recommendations from health authorities, national, regional and local task forces, and other advisory groups to ensure we can continue to run our business and support our clients and workers in the safest and most effective manner possible for all stakeholders.

    As any emergent situation would require, HR Partners will very closely follow the guiding rules client organizations have in place for their own employees and will advise our employees on client sites to adhere to these same policies and procedures, with applicable monitoring and guidance. 

  • What is the latest travel advice?

    From 16/3/20, the government has updated its travel advice for people entering Australia. If your staff are travelling or returning to Australia, they will be required to self-isolate (Coronavirus COVID-19 isolation guidance) for 14 days. This applies to all travellers, including Australian citizens. For details see the Australian Border Force website.

    The government has advised Australians not to travel aboard to any country. 

  • What provisions/best practices are HR Partners following that may be of help to you?

    We believe governments and health agencies are best positioned to determine appropriate measures, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other prominent health organizations, and our global and local task forces are adhering to their guidelines on mitigation and prevention.

  • What are the guidelines for HR Partners employees, contractors and temps if they experience symptoms and/or have concerns?

    If you feel unwell and/or have concerns that you have the virus based on your recent travel, or due to the fact that you have come into contact with someone who has travelled to a high-risk area, we advise you to not come into the office. Please immediately connect with your manager and HR department to discuss your symptoms. They may also ask you to complete a health declaration form. Next to this, follow the advice from the local health authorities, call the local non-emergency health line rather than going to your local doctor and try to avoid spreading the virus further. More information can be found here.

  • How is HR Partners managing technology?

    We continue to assess and test our technology infrastructure, and are confident that we will maintain service levels as they are. 

    Our senior leadership team will closely monitor the situation in all client accounts. This ensures that our teams remain agile and can be a significant resource in providing guidance on facilitating work from home arrangements, video interviewing services, virtual recruiting platforms, etc. to keep your business moving ahead during this disruption.

  • What if a family member becomes unwell?

    If a family member is unwell with COVID-19 and you have been in close contact you MUST self isolate yourself and not come to work. All permanent employees will be able to access standard leave provisions. If still unsure what you should do, please call the local non-emergency health line for further advice.

  • Can you and your employees still go to work?

    Yes, you and your employees can continue to go to work and other public places if feeling well. From 16/03/2020, The Australian Government has closed the borders with all people now entering the country being asked to self isolate for two weeks before returning to work. Most companies now have a full travel ban in place for business-related travel. 

    It is important in these times to first and foremost reconsider your personal travel. If you absolutely have to travel, it’s the responsibility of employees to inform their manager and HR department of their travel activities and you may be asked to complete a travel declaration form.

    Be aware, the Australian Government will also ban cruise ships from foreign ports from arriving to Australian ports for an initial 30 days and that will go forward on a rolling basis.

  • Will you be closing offices?

    We will continue to monitor the situation closely. We are not currently planning to close offices unless we are advised to, or for safety reasons if we believe that it is the best course of action or we have a case of infection. However, in the upcoming period our consultants are all able to work in case of any unforeseen, changing circumstances with regards to your workplace. 

    HR Partners will work with the broader community to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  We currently have 50% of staff working from home to maximise social distancing. We will safely ensure the continuity of business for clients and candidates.

  • What are the guidelines for HR Partners employees if they have travelled in impacted regions?

    It’s the responsibility of all our employees to inform their manager and the HR Business Partners of their travel activities and to ascertain if the area they have visited has a significant infection rate, so that a decision can be made on the need to work from home. 

    All Randstad people coming into Australia must self isolate for two weeks before returning to work. They will be asked to complete the health declaration form. 

    Be aware, The Australian Government will also ban cruise ships from foreign ports from arriving to Australian ports for an initial 30 days and that will go forward on a rolling basis.

  • What if you or your employees travel abroad and cannot come back to Australia/New Zealand?

    It is important in these times to first and foremost reconsider all travel. If you or your employees absolutely have to travel, consult your manager first and discuss potential scenarios in case you cannot return to Australia or New Zealand. For example, ensure you (have the tools to) can work virtually.

  • Does HR Partners have a business continuity plan for HR Parnters? E.g. in case offices are closed or employees need to work from home etc?

    HR Partners has an extensive business continuity plan. To find out more please reach out to your HR Partners Account Manager or consultant who can share aspects of this plan and advise companies on best practice procedures to minimise risks and business continuity. In addition, HR Partners has developed a work from home procedure with clear tips and guidance to keep business running as usual.

  • How do we facilitate HR Partners employees working from home?

    Our people have a full suite of IT solutions to support their remote working and the continuation of services to our clients and candidates.

  • What is HR Partners' policy around temps working from home?

    In essence you, our client’s, work from home policy applies - so we’ll need a copy of that plus ensure they have the right hardware to be able to do their job.  Ideally, we want to be able to support our temporary employees and contractors to remain working. We consider this low risk from a WHS perspective.

    We have working from home safety guidelines and a home safety checklist that can be shared should you require them.

  • Are we testing our business continuity plan?

    Yes, we are testing our ability to continue to operate should we have to ask our staff to work from home. For example, we are testing payrolling and our 24/7 call centre management with our employees working from home.

  • What steps are HR Partners taking to combat the virus?

    HR Patners has adopted reasonable and proportionate actions consistent with Australian government advice that should be taken as precautionary measures to protect the health and wellbeing of the community. Our priority is the health and wellbeing of our workforce. Our proactive measures include taking proactive measures communicating hygiene practices to all staff members and is keeping a log of all international travel. 

    In addition, we have communicated hygiene practices to our working temporary employees and contractors. We will continue to update them over the coming weeks.

    If required, we have further measures to update and support current working employees of HR Partners, however, are monitoring the situation daily and following government advice on the matter.

best practices curated for you.

Unsure how to adapt your talent strategies during the COVID-19 emergency? We have curated best practice examples from employers and advice from leading health authorities around the world to help you effectively respond to the current challenging environment. From examples of how companies are leading in the fight to protect their workers, to expert advice on how you should communicate with talent on an ongoing basis, we’ve created a database of curated content that will be updated regularly during the pandemic crisis. Our best practices library also includes original content authored by HR Partners' thought leaders and valued technology partners on steps you can take to minimize disruption to your business.
 

working with HR Partners remotely.

Client visits are now virtual as a default. If you and a member of our staff need to meet face to face for any compelling reason, we have instructed our staff to only do so with mutual consent and adhering to the health and safety instructions including social distancing. You can connect to us via phone and via many digital solutions such as Google hangouts, Skype, GotoMeeting and Zoom.

Job interviews now are virtual. For any interactions where we must meet face to face. For onboarding, training, tests or picking up safety equipment, we ask that you get in touch with your consultant first to understand procedures moving forward. In the case of face to face interactions, we ask that people stay 1.5 metres apart. Consultants will wipe down any surfaces that have been touched after the meeting is finished.

useful resources.

how can we help you?

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