Many companies have made the decision to begin furloughing and laying off employees in the past five months. As businesses begin the process of returning to a new normal, leaders must consider the approach they are taking to bring those employees back. To maintain a positive company culture and keep your employees loyal to your company, you must go about this carefully. Are you re-onboarding your staff? If so, how?
At Culture Works, we have thought about this process extensively, so here are a few things you should begin considering if you ‘re-onboarding your staff.
To start, you need to decide who to bring back to the company. Initially, you may not be able to return all of your employees to work. However, there may be some legal implications associated with not returning all employees. Employees who feel their employer’s decision not to return them to work is contingent upon their membership in a protected class can bring about a disparate treatment claim. Employers may also receive disparate treatment claims if their decision-making process has a negative impact on protected class employees.
So, it is extremely important that you take care as you begin to craft your plan to bring employees back. You may want to put an explanation of the business conditions, the number of employees, their skill sets, and selection criteria you use to determine who you are bringing back. Once you’ve decided who to bring back to work, run a statistical analysis to ensure members of protected groups have the same opportunity.
You may want to consider preparing a notice to send out to any employee who has been laid off or furloughed. This helps you establish a written record that you sent an offer for that employee to return to work. In this notice, you should include the date you expect them to return and return to work instructions. As well as any notifications regarding changes to wages, hours, or deductions from pay. You may also want to include the ways you are making the physical workspace safe for employees to return.
Businesses have had to rethink their physical workspace to accommodate health guidelines. You should consider social distancing guidelines, employee training, disinfection protocols, providing PPE. While also informing employees of the implementation of screening protocols for both employees and visitors. You should also give clarity on how to handle those who get sick, get symptoms, or are exposed to COVID-19. You must communicate these new safety protocols with your employees to ensure they understand how you are working to keep them safe, and how they can assist in this process.
Consider how you may want to alter leave and attendance policies, as employees may need to stay home with their families. You may want to consider extending your work from home policies for those employees who are high risk, or need to care for their families. Lastly, you may want to alter policies surrounding travel, work meetings, and visitor screening. For more information, check out our article ‘Have you updated your Employee Practices Handbook?’
Certain industries might be required to re-run background checks when they return their employees from a furlough or layoff. If you are one of these industries, be sure to ask your employees for their consent to perform an additional background check, even if you have their consent from their initial hiring.
You need to decide whether or not a rehired employee receives the accrued vacation and PTO from before their furlough or layoff. As far as sick leave is concerned, there are state and local rules for you to follow. Some states have mandatory sick leave laws that require rehired employees to receive their accrued sick days if it has been less than 9 months. Consider adjusting your sick leave policies to encourage those who are sick to remain home.
As you continue to navigate this uncertain time, we understand there may be a lot on your plate. At Culture Works, we want to help! Our team helps to operationalize your culture to ensure you have engaged employees who create success for your business. Want more information? Contact us today!