Germany: Post Corona Agenda

Starting up operations again – what you should do in the next three months

• Health Protection Policy or Works Agreement: You should define rules how to proceed, how to ensure social distancing and how to manage meetings, collocation and group work to protect your workforce and fulfill your employer´s duty of care
• You will need to define new reporting processes, establish access and control systems in the company and adapt the travel guideline
• “Support and monitor employee health” – As employer you are particularly responsible for the health and safety of the employees. This requires a systematic approach for monitoring of the workforce, if necessary, via app
• Prepare for future organization: Consider a second Corona wave or another pandemic and prepare you company for such incident. Take precaution of another lock down.
• Redefine the contracts with suppliers/service providers. Consider what has happened in March and April and amend the contracts were necessary. More detailed Force Majeure clauses will help
• Holiday arrangements 2020 and 2021: Make sure that not everyone can take holidays at the same time in autumn / winter 2020 or beginning 2021.

• Mobile Office Policy Allowing your employees to work from home requires a sufficient legal basis which deals with the issues like IT infrastructure, data protection, working times permitted by law and the normal working hours applicable in the organization.
• Start contingency planning, identify key personnel and organize emergency plans and backups for pandemic situations.
• Accelerate Smart Working – It is time to speed up digital readiness in your company to prepare for mobile and remote work. Preparing your employees for a digital transformation and use downtimes for trainings.
• Corporate communication – have you been able to inform all customers, partners, suppliers and stakeholders quickly and reliably? Otherwise you should define new communication channels and review the communication structure.
• Is it necessary to update the technical infrastructure (IT solutions, VPNs, virtual meetings video-conferences)? Do you have rules for the business and/or private use of the IT infrastructure? You need a good
• IT Policy as legal framework for IT security, data privacy, secrecy of telecommunications, confidentiality obligations, trade secrets and know-how protection. 
• Do you have a Technology Support Team that is ready to assist employees when working remote? Increasing digitization and changing employees behavior constantly pose new challenges in terms of the storage, transmission and presentation of information. The quantity and quality of data is on the rise due to integration and digitization.