Blackouts.....who'd have thought that this would be a topic we needed to cover for 2023!

The UK National Grid has warned that the war in Ukraine combined with very cold weather could result in three-hour power cuts on very cold evenings between 4pm - 7pm in January and February 2023.

Although it may seem unlikely as it's a last resort, the impact on businesses across the UK could be significant, with potential planned and unscheduled power cuts on the horizon.

If a power cut like this was to happen during working hours, do you know how you would handle it? Would you expect your employees to keep on working? Would they actually be able to? It's all worth considering - you don't want to be flapping around in a panic if the time comes and you haven't made any plans and don't know what you're communicating internally.

Consider the following ahead of next year so that you can minimise any risks and put a plan in place:-

• Would your employees be in a safe working environment without power. Think about light and heating - the guidance for working conditions is a minimum temperature of 16 degrees, or 13 degrees for physical work. How would you keep your employees warm and with access to good lighting for visibility and safety?
• If the blackouts affect the workplace only, could you ask your employees to work from home if possible; and vice versa?
• How resilient are your IT systems and servers?
• If based on site, would employees be able to safely get home?
• How would you communicate with your employees during a power cut?
• Be mindful of people's individual circumstances outside of work and how power cuts may affect them (e.g. no childcare facilities or children being sent home from school, being able to keep warm and feed the family, living home alone etc).
• Ask employees to keep mobiles, laptops and any other equipment fully charged where possible.
• Provide advice for employees to use their mobiles for Wi-Fi hot-spotting if they have access to data through a company phone for example.
• Are there any other forms of work which employees may be able to do which doesn't require power or an internet connection?
• Could you temporarily adjust working hours during the day around the likely 4pm-7pm period?
• Be clear on your expectations of employees during these periods.
• Consider if any equipment, such as generators or other power supplies, can be purchased in advance to ensure business continuity, particularly for priority areas.
• Keep up to date with any health, safety and well-being guidance around power cuts and circulate any guidance issued from health and safety agencies to all of your staff.
• Highlight any well-being support your business offers such as Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP).

It's best to think about your approach as a business and be able to clearly communicate to employees ahead of either a planned or unplanned power cut taking place. This will ensure clarity around what would happen, and also help to ease any concerns. It's important to emphasise that your employee's well-being and safety take priority here.

When it comes to pay during a power cut, as your employees remain available for work but forces outside their control mean work is not possible, this means they will still need to be paid. In some circumstances, contracts of employment may allow you to "lay off" employees or place them on short-time working if the business decides to shut down for a short period. We would however urge any company with contract clauses like this to think very carefully about the impact this may have on their employees, bearing in mind the ongoing cost of living crisis.

If you'd like to chat with us about this topic, or anything else, please reach out to us using our contact form below. #wearefreshseed