Chapter 7: Create fair employment and good work for all
The impact on business
Businesses worked hard to keep staff and customers safe and remain open when Covid-19 restrictions allowed.
Our Trading Standards Officers, Environmental Health Officers and Enforcement Officers played a key role in supporting the Council's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We diverted them from their day job of protecting the public through their work in food safety and hygiene, planning and highways enforcement, consumer protection, and workplace, environment and product safety and used their professional skills to lead and co-ordinate a Covid-19 Business Compliance Team.
This team operated for 18 months providing expert advice, guidance and support on Covid-19 to Gateshead's businesses and event organisers, monitoring compliance with the ever-changing Covid guidance and legislation and where necessary carrying out enforcement action to ensure the safety of Gateshead's residents and visitors.
This included supporting and advising businesses who experienced Covid outbreaks amongst staff, ensuring they had all of the necessary measures in place to prevent workplace transmission so their businesses could continue to operate safely.
The business community in Gateshead responded positively to contacts from the team and compliance with Covid legislation was high across all types of business sectors. The majority of compliance was achieved through engagement and support and enforcement action in the form of fixed penalty notices and directions were only needed in a few cases.
Elaine Rudman, Compliance and Regulatory Services Manager, Gateshead Council
Trinity Square plays a major role in retail and leisure in Gateshead and those two sectors were among the hardest hit during the pandemic. We also have both essential and nonessential retail within our mix and up to 1,000 university students living on site, many of whom remained throughout lockdown, so we had to quickly organise, plan and mobilise our multi-faceted Covid-19 strategy quickly and robustly.
Trinity Square is ultimately a community resource in the heart of Gateshead so being able to operate throughout the pandemic has been paramount, in keeping our staff and customers safe while providing those daily essential needs and services. The ever-changing Covid landscape was a challenge for everyone but our approach was to work with all of our partners and stakeholders to ensure we were providing a safe and secure environment for all concerned and to reinforce Government and local authority messaging to our shoppers and visitors. Our goal has always been to fully reopen without casualty, helping our businesses survive and thrive and we are proud to strongly believe we achieved our aim and commitment.
Tony Pickering, Centre Manager, Savills
From a business continuity perspective, the pandemic presented many challenges, especially as it followed close on the heels of Brexit. Our business supplies a wide number of sectors and that helped us through the quiet periods during the height of lockdown. Although it wasn't easy, we maintained service levels throughout the pandemic for the key worker sectors that still required our products such as farming and distribution. We have then supported other sectors as they have reopened again.
Paul Booth, Managing Director, GB Lubricants
In my role as Health and Safety Manager at GB Lubricants, I felt I had a personal responsibility to my colleagues to be the first point of contact for any questions or concerns they may have had in relation to Covid, especially as there were several myths and misinformation circulating on social media platforms. I signed up to become a Gateshead Community Covid Champion to allow me to share information from the weekly Teams meetings that I attend, and to subsequently distribute the clear messages throughout the wider company. This contributed towards a safer working environment for all and having the confidence that the messages I was delivering were factually correct, relevant and current made this a great deal easier.
Meeting people from other businesses, services and organisations on a weekly basis has also been a huge support. Sharing Covid stories and experiences made it clear that we weren't alone in our fight against Covid and that as a local community, we could get through the pandemic together.
Emma Lynn, Health and Safety and Business Systems Manager, GB Lubricants
If it wasn't for the furlough scheme, we wouldn't have been able to retain five members of our staff. It was just awful not being able to work. When we did reopen briefly in July and December, we were extremely grateful but to keep closing and reopening took its toll. To reopen, hopefully for good, on 12 April was a real milestone for us.
The way we work changed overnight when the pandemic hit. From wearing PPE to changing the salon's layout to ensure both staff and clients could abide by social distancing rules. In total, we lost 50% of our capacity. Before we could do a cut and blow-dry while someone sat with a colour on. We can't do that anymore. Ultimately, fewer clients mean less revenue.
When you're blow-drying hair all-day wearing PPE is uncomfortable. But at the end of the day, it means we can keep our business open and safe. If we have to wear PPE for longer, that's what we will continue to do.
Bernie James and Susan Rudd, Co-owners of Urban Concept Hair Studio