The current Covid–19 Pandemic is causing significant difficulties for businesses around the globe. As yet the UK has not been significantly affected albeit commentators are suggesting that disruption to UK commerce and industry is now highly likely.
BHP is a people business and we are unlikely to be immune from any such affects. It is our desire to maintain the highest standards of client care and service we can and deliver to any deadlines we have agreed with you. However, as we are sure you will appreciate, these are unprecedented events and it is possible that our service standards may be affected should the extent of the pandemic worsen. Following the latest advice from the UK Government we thought it appropriate to tell you how we intend to manage any consequences for our clients and our people.
- Many of our 300+ people have laptops and can work remotely when needed. Everyone is being asked to take their laptops, power cables and telephone headsets with them outside of working hours until further notice. Should an office need to close or an individual is asked to self-isolate, most of our staff will continue to be able to work from home and can be contacted by phone and email in the usual way. If you need to contact any of our staff and do not have their contact details, please simply call one of our offices and the receptionists will make arrangements for the staff to contact you.
- We have invested heavily in our IT systems and therefore work in a largely paperless manner already and our people can access necessary documentation and systems remotely whilst following our usual processes and controls.
- We have five separate offices. Should one office have to close, we are able to house some people from that office in another and also pass over much of the administration functions, such as post handling. So, whilst we receive most of our client and member communication electronically, in the event of an office closure, we would arrange all post to be redirected, scanned and distributed electronically to teams.
- Our cross team and office working practices enable us to use our resources to support each other when necessary. In the event that resourcing levels are compromised due to illness or inability to work, we will consider how resources are used to their best advantage. It is likely that will mean prioritisation of urgent workloads and we seek to inform our clients should such a situation arise. We will make every effort to mitigate the impact for our clients in this situation. However, should the pandemic affect us severely, it may not always be possible for us to communicate with you about such matters as timeously as we and you would otherwise expect. We would ask for your understanding if that is the case. Please be assured we will be seeking to ensure that any disruption this may cause will be minimised, but we would seek to remind you that such matters are catered for by the terms and conditions we have agreed with you.
As you can imagine we are seeking to take all reasonable measures in line with on going Government guidance to ensure that our peoples’ safety and health is assured and hence we are asking that our people now avoid other that essential travel or face to face meetings. Fortunately, our technology systems provide for different types of electronic communication including video and audio conferencing, secure data portals and, of course, email and we would encourage the use of such technology wherever possible in communications between us.
Where it is important that we meet with our clients in person (and where it is sensible to do so, taking account of the UK Government guidelines) we need to ensure that reasonable precautions are taken. We will be asking that any potential visitors to our offices that have travelled to any of the category 1 countries within the last 14 days, as listed on the Government website, to join by video or telephone call. We have excellent facilities available for both telephone and video conferencing and can provide details on request. More information on the UK Governments’ guidance on such matter is available here.
If we would normally provide our services to you at your premises and it is expected that we would be on site with you imminently, we will be in touch separately to arrange how we might best do this and minimise risks to both you and to our people.
If you are BHP Payroll Services client, you should note the payroll department are fully prepared to process payrolls and make payments through Bacs in the event of a shutdown by the Government regarding Covid19. All members of the payroll team are set up to process payrolls at home and all Supervisors and Managers can send Bacs files from home so payments to Employees can still be made. No payroll files will be removed from the business premises in line with GDPR regulations. As noted above, we would ask that where possible all information is sent electronically by yourselves. Please do this as soon as possible to ensure deadlines can be met. If you are unable to issue us with current month changes to the payroll, we will ensure basic salaries are made to Employees on their normal pay date. If you would prefer that payments are not made in this way, please inform your usual payroll contact of your wishes as soon as possible.
It is important that we take these proactive steps to minimise the spread of COVID-19. We will react proportionately to ensure that we continue to provide the excellent service that our clients expect in delivering against your key objectives and priorities. We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will take the appropriate action as necessary. We hope you understand the reasons for this communication and that the temporary changes to how we deliver our services will not affect you too much and want you to know how much we appreciate your flexibility and understanding during this time. Should you have any queries whatsoever, please speak with your key contact(s) at BHP as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully
Hamish Morrison and Lisa Leighton – Joint Managing Partners
BHP LLP
