As Corona Virus COVID-19 continues to spread globally the\nreverberations are now being felt on global economies. Since the middle of last\nweek global markets have seen a sharp fall – with US indexes down 10% and\nEuropean market also falling sharply. The downturn is now also starting to\naffect businesses and the wider community within the GCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major sporting events such as the Cycle Tour of UAE have\nbeen cancelled in the wake of 2 Italian cyclists testing positive for the\nvirus; school sporting events have been cancelled; nurseries in Abu Dhabi are\nclosing and travel restrictions are becoming more widespread with each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facts V\nFear<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n UAE authorities have issued a number of statements to\nreassure residents and businesses amid the growing concerns over public health\nand the potential impact on commerce; confirming on Thursday that they are\ntaking all necessary measures, there is no need for panic and that\n\u201cwell-established procedures are in place\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Minister of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), Abdul Rahman\nAl Owais, announced that a new medical facility has been set up far away from\nresidential areas in order to treat any affected people in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that companies must take\nproportionate measures to protect their people and business operations in\nresponse to the outbreak. In the age of social media however, news can travel\nrapidly and without censure making it extremely difficult for individuals and organisations\nto cut through the noise, maintain perspective and determine the appropriate\nactions to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Workforce<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenges that UAE companies will face are numerous and\nvaried. Most importantly though is an organisation\u2019s duty of care and responsibly\nto staff and contractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses within UAE are at particular risk due to the high\nnumber of expat workers living in project and worker camps. These can be\nrelatively tight with hundreds, sometimes thousands of people living together,\nsharing rooms and dining together daily in a buffet environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also an environment in which expat workers frequently\ntravel to and from their home countries on leave – potentially transiting\nthrough affected areas. If the virus gets into a camp it could spread quickly,\ntherefore it is prudent to have measures in place to address this potential\nrisk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also important to consider the legal obligations your\norganisation has towards its employees. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most challenging issues affecting business since\nthe outbreak of the Cornonavirus has been travel. A combination of travel\nrestrictions imposed by individual countries plus a general nervousness to\ntravel for business purposes in light of continually changing restrictions have\nhad a large impact on this aspect of commercial operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The travel and tourism sector itself has seen a slowdown as\na result, with global carriers now taking measures to address this in their own\norganisations. Emirates for example, the UAE\u2019s busiest airline, has implemented\nan HR policy offering staff unpaid voluntary leave until things improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses could consider emulating this policy or\nformulating their own HR policies offering flexible working hours and the\nopportunity for employees to work from home. This could potentially ensure both\nprotection for employees and the smooth continuation of business operations\nshould further restrictions on public travel or even large gatherings be\nimposed by UAE authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we may find in the coming weeks or months is that\nperhaps the UAE will consider lifting restrictions on calls via platforms such\nas Whatsapp and Skype in an attempt to better facilitate communications between\norganisations and their employees working remotely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For international trips critical to business operations what\napprovals do you have in place to authorise travel for your staff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supply\nChain Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Productivity in China is inevitably in decline due to\nquarantining of workers and blanket travel restrictions cutting off trading\nroutes through major cities. Due to travel restrictions, factories producing\ngoods still face the issue of transporting goods to and through ports without\nexperiencing major delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With China as one of the main suppliers of goods to the UAE\nmany businesses are finding that products are either unavailable or delayed.\nThis decrease in supply and increase in demand is therefore forcing companies\nto source more expensive alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impact is being felt not only in first tier supply goods\nbut also component parts of products from third and fourth tier suppliers who\nalso rely on products from China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although a challenging time globally for businesses there are proportionate measures which can and should be taken to protect staff and business operations without the need for panic. Reliable medical sources such as the World Heath Organisations are now providing daily updates on the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: PRO Partner Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Corona Virus COVID-19 continues to spread globally the reverberations are now being felt on global economies. Since the middle of last week global markets have seen a sharp fall – with US indexes down 10% and European market also falling sharply. The downturn is now also starting to affect businesses and the wider community within the GCC. Major sporting events such as the Cycle Tour of UAE have been cancelled in the wake of 2 Italian cyclists testing positive for the virus; school sporting events have been cancelled; nurseries in Abu Dhabi are closing and travel restrictions are becoming […]<\/p>\n