Tag: remote working

Rugby club entrepreneurs bid to kick old working habits to touch

Ambitions to roll out model to more sports clubhouses

TWO senior figures at one of Scotland’s top community rugby clubs have launched a new remote office venture, transforming under-utilised clubhouse facilities and offering salvation for home-workers.

“Breakout” has re-imagined the vast top floor of Currie Chieftains’ Malleny Park clubhouse, creating a stylish, safe and comfortable workspace, able to be used by anyone working outside the office.

The idea emerged during lockdown, with Mark Cairns, Head Coach of the Balerno-based club realising that the long-term future of work was changing, with many homes unsuited to home working, with many put off by the stress and environmental impact of daily commutes.

At the same time, the club had been hit by the pandemic, with the clubhouse – like thousands across the country – sitting dormant.

Edinburgh-based Mark, CEO of Breakout, is also the founder of Coach Logic, a sports analysis and communication platform, and like millions of others has worked from home for much of the pandemic.

The 37-year-old father of two, said: “In all honesty I was getting fed up with my home slowly becoming my office. I was finding it difficult to switch off from work, when I realised the club could be a great working space.

“We hope to inspire more spaces like this. There are a lot of sports clubs with underused spaces, which are normally utilised in the evenings but almost never during office hours.

“Many are in semi-rural and suburban locations, surrounded by families but requiring a sizeable commute to city centre workplaces.

“Hopefully these clubs can see Currie leading by example. We think we can slowly but surely, make a positive change for a lot of communities.”

“Our values and mission are very clear – we want to impact people’s work life and environment one space at a time and we think introducing the Breakout idea to the world is a step in the right direction.”

Fergus Scott, current captain of Currie Chieftains first team and general manager of Breakout, said: “Mark and I have put in a lot of hard work to make the co-working space a reality.

“We have received a lot of support from the local community as well, as more people are having to work remotely from outside the office, so the idea of having a space like Breakout is massive for them.”

The Breakout co-working hub has also partnered with coffee specialists, Forth Roasters, to offer quality sit-in and takeaway coffee and snacks on site.

Andy Russell, managing director of Bureau, which has provided contemporary furnishings and is primed to work with Breakout at future sites, said: “People have always seen co-working spaces as a city centre-based business.

“But the pandemic has enforced a new trend of remote work environment, which made the opportunity for suburban co-working spaces to emerge, and there isn’t better space than your local sports club.”

The Breakout team are now on the lookout for the next sports venue which they can transform into the next remote co-working centre.

For more information on Breakout, visit: https://breakout.club/

How to manage your business insurance while working remotely

 With the country now in its third and hopefully final lockdown there are many businesses unable to operate from their usual premises under current government guidelines, many employees have reverted to working remotely from their homes.

While focus has been on transitioning equipment and employees, many business leaders may not have yet had time to consider their insurance policies and the potential impact of remote working over the longer term. 

To support businesses, leading insurance provider,Insurance2go, has shared advice on business insurance cover for those with employees who continue to work remotely. 

Check your policy 

This may seem like an obvious first step, but it is important to check that you are still covered by your insurance while employees work from home. 

The good news is that, generally, your insurance will cover your business when it’s not in its regular location. Where you operate from doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re still in the UK. However, you may need to check your contents insurance and whether it covers use of items such as laptops, for example, beyond your normal premises. If it doesn’t, you may need to extend your cover as you cannot rely on your employee’s home insurance to include business use. 

Health and safety checks 

Interestingly, The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 makes no distinction between home and in-office workers. The regulations require employers to carry out a risk assessment of their employees’ workplace, to identify any potential risks so the employer can then seek to remove or mitigate the risk. 

It is not necessary to visit the employee’s home to carry out a risk assessment, particularly during the ongoing pandemic. However, HR managers can provide the employee with a detailed self-assessment questionnaire as part of a firm’s legal responsibilities for homeworkers. 

If your company does not have one already, there are many free templates available online. 

Heath & Safety Executive: Free Display Screen Equipment Checklist 

https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ck1.htm

Keep records 

Your business needs to be able to show that is has done everything by the book, just in case a circumstance arises where an employee says you didn’t set them up to work from home properly and suffered as a result of it, or there is a data breach. Keep a record of everything you have done, including reasons and the dates they happened. 

It is important to have a home working policy that staff can access and read to ensure it is clear what is expected from both parties. 

Home working policies should cover key areas including: 

  • when employees will be available to work 
  • how and how regularly they’ll keep in touch 
  • how their performance will be managed 
  • health and safety expectations 
  • rules around confidentiality, IT security, storing information and data protection 
  • who employees should contact if they’re experiencing any problems. 

Get cyber insurance 

During 2020, the NCSA (National Cyber Security Centre) reported an increase in cyber-security threats, most likely as a result of employees working from home with serious breach affecting a business’s reputation1. 

Firstly, make sure IT teams have undertaken checks on all laptops, desktops, and tablets to make sure they are as protected as possible. Also ensure secure connections are set up from the worker’s home station to the company network. 

As cybercrimes become more sophisticated it is important not to rely on checks alone, having cyber insurance in place will help to mitigate further risks. 

Keep your insurer informed 

Most likely your business has changed due to the pandemic if you’ve seen a period of rapid expansion and growth. Whatever your circumstances then get in touch with your insurer. If you’re unsure, err on the side of caution and provide the updates, rather than running the risk of invalidating your policy. 

On the other hand, if your business is now having to operate remotely, you should check with your individual insurance providers as to whether they require you to check and maintain security systems while the premises are vacant. 

Richard Gray, Head of Marketing and Digital, at Insurance2go says:“It has been an unforeseen time for businesses and employees alike, and for many business leaders it can be hard to predict what the future looks like for their employees in terms of working remotely. 

“It’s more important than ever that businesses protect themselves from any unplanned expenses and we hope this advice helps people understand what is required from an insurance point of view, to continue to operate effectively and safely while working from home.” 

For more information on business insurance, please visit:

https://www.insurance2go.co.uk/about/news-blog/news/insurance2go-business-launches-new-specialist-multi-item-insurance 

Local lockdowns and remote working stifling potential high street jobs recovery

Deserted high streets and city centres are hampering Britain’s jobs recovery with urban areas in Scotland and south England bearing the steepest declines in vacancies.  

New research by the Centre for Cities think tank and global job site Indeed found that seven months after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, job vacancies have failed to return to pre-Covid levels in all 63 towns and cities they analysed. 

Aberdeen recorded the steepest fall with a -75% year-on-year decline followed by Edinburgh (-57%), Belfast and the West Sussex town, Crawley (both -55%). London has seen the sixth biggest fall in job postings (-52%).

Chatham (-7%), Stoke (-17%) and Burnley (-18%) saw the shallowest declines while overall UK vacancies are -46% behind last year’s level.

Where has seen the biggest falls in job vacancies?
Cities and large towns with the LARGEST drop in job vacanciesCities and large towns with the SMALLEST drop in job vacancies
RankPlaceFall in job postings since 2019 (%)RankPlaceFall in job postings since 2019 (%)
1Aberdeen-75%1Chatham-7%
2Edinburgh-57%2Stoke-17%
3Belfast-55%3Burnley-18%
4Crawley-55%4Birkenhead-20%
5Aldershot-54%5Mansfield-21%
6London-52%6Ipswich-22%
7Reading-52%7Peterborough-23%
8Worthing-51%8Middlesbrough-26%
9Luton-50%9Plymouth-26%
10York-49%10Derby-27%

The stuttering jobs recovery is closely linked to the collapse in local service jobs. These are roles that involve selling directly to local consumers, including sectors like food, retail, arts and leisure, which are exposed to Covid-related restrictions.

The rise in people working from home has dried up demand for local services in big cities, with London, Manchester and Edinburgh – cities where remote work has been most feasible during the pandemic – among the places with the slowest recovery in job postings in local services businesses compared with last year.

In London 10.7% of job postings mention ‘remote work’ and in large cities with a population of over 600,000 the rate is 9.7%.

While no place or sector has escaped the labour market crisis, those where high street footfall returned to normal more quickly – Birkenhead, Chatham and Hull – have seen a faster recovery in posted job vacancies. Public sector jobs have also been relatively sheltered from the crisis compared to private sector ones.

Andrew Carter, Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive, said: “While unemployment continues to rise, the number of jobs available to people who find themselves out of work is far below its level last year in every single large city and town in the UK. This could have potentially catastrophic long-term consequences for people and the economy.

“The Government has told us to expect a tough winter and, while local lockdowns are necessary to protect lives, it is vital that ministers continue to listen and reassess the level of support given to help people and places to cope with the months ahead.

“The Chancellor made welcome amendments to the JSS which should help save jobs, but many places across the country didn’t have enough jobs before the pandemic hit so creating more will be vital to prevent long-term economic damage to their local economies.”

Pawel Adrjan, EMEA head of research at the global job site Indeed, said: “The timid recovery in job vacancies is a portent of the distress towns and cities could face if restrictions continue to spring up in parts of the country already reeling from imposed lockdowns and reduced footfall.

“With the remote work trend showing no sign of abating – and entire regions being placed under stricter control – service jobs in large towns and cities could become scarcer still and pull the UK into a jobs spiral. That could mean a very long winter ahead for the millions of people currently unemployed.”