How Northampton employers are preparing for a return to offices after coronavirus lockdown

A return to the office is still a way off for many large employers in Northampton while calls have been made for masks to be compulsory at work.

The majority of office workers across the country have been working at home for almost four months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

As the lockdown begins to ease, office buildings are starting to reopen and employees are tentatively coming back too.

However, Northamptonshire County Council is not planning any major changes until September for workers at One Angel Square.

"We are now in a position to start considering a wider reset of services, prioritising those services that will benefit from more office-based working," a council spokesperson said.

"This will not be instant and we have to ensure that we can safely do this while properly managing any risk for employees."

Around the corner, Northampton Borough Council has no current plans for most employees to come back to The Guildhall.

“In order to ensure we continue to comply with government social distancing guidance, many of our staff will remain working from home where they can effectively do so," a spokesperson said.

“Arrangements have been made to accommodate a return for those staff who need to, though numbers will be limited due to the government guidance in place.”

The Carlsberg brewery is pretty hard to miss in the town centre and has been fully functional throughout the lockdown with strict health and safety control measures and social distancing.

But for the rest of the staff, a Carlsberg UK spokesperson said: "Our employees in support functions are set up to work from home and continue to do so successfully.

"At this time, we have not set a firm date for when offices will reopen and instead continue to monitor the latest government and public health guidance and review our well-developed plans accordingly.”

Out of the town centre, Wootton Hall Park is the workplaces of many employees of Northamptonshire Police, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Office of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

A police spokesperson said: “The safety of our employees is paramount and from the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, stringent measures have been in place to ensure the safety of frontline police officers and staff who have been unable to work from home due to the nature of their job.

“Of course, a lot of our staff members could work from home and due to the very quick and efficient work of our IT department, they were able to do this successfully from the moment lockdown was imposed on March 23.

“Robust plans are in place to ensure the safe, phased return of those employees to the offices they are based at, in line with the Covid-19 guidance and with adequate social distancing measures in place.”

While a Travis Perkins spokesman added: "The coronavirus threat is here to stay and safety is paramount for us, so we don’t plan to make any changes to our current ways of working for the foreseeable future, most likely for the rest of this year.

"That means that those who are based in our support functions and are currently working from home, will remain working in this way."

Offices.co.uk, which manages three serviced workplaces in Northampton, believes the government should include offices in the spaces where masks are compulsory, like shops from July 24.

Jonathan Ratcliffe, from the firm, thinks making face masks mandatory in all common areas would increase employee confidence and help convince staff it is safe to return.

"We desperately need everyone back at work in Northampton, and the confusion about whether it’s safe or not is not helpful at all," he said.

Offices.co.uk recommends masks are work in common areas, toilets, kitchens, lifts and reception and can be taken off in private areas and small meeting rooms.

Having more offices occupied in the town centre would help both with the productivity of those business and help the shops, cafes and other firms that rely on those customers, according to Mr Ratcliffe.

"Including compulsory facemasks in offices and workplaces on July 24 sends a strong message that this is the new normal, and we need everyone back in central Northampton – even if they are wearing masks.”

Northamptonshire County Council has some ideas on how to make going back to the office more appealing and less worrying for staff.

"When the time comes, employees will not all be able to return at the same time and we may need to consider staggered start times and rotas," the spokesperson said.

“To help our workforce prepare for the new normal we are currently working on the development of an interactive tool to show employees the changes we have made to our workplaces to make them Covid-19 secure.

"These measures include social distancing signage and posters, a one-way system around our office spaces, and multiple hand sanitisation stations.

"We are also reviewing our smarter working policies to ensure we can monitor the capacity of buildings as well as make best use of technology.

“We would like to thank all of our employees for the professional and dedicated way in which they have enabled the delivery of core and critical services during this unprecedented time.”