NEWS


Travel recruitment seminar: Potential changes in the post-Covid workplace came under the spotlight at C&M Travel Recruitment’s Get Set for Travel webinar. Juliet Dennis reports


Pressure to work from home ‘will be hard to resist’


T


ravel businesses are likely to come under pressure to introduce flexible working policies


following the Covid pandemic, say HR and legal experts. Increasing numbers of companies


now offer ‘hybrid’ business models that allow staff a mix of working in the office and from home after 14 months of lockdowns. HR and talent professional


Claire Steiner said the pandemic had “fundamentally changed the way businesses work”. She said: “Businesses are going to be hard-pressed now to say no to hybrid working because it’s been proven to work.”


‘Travel companies are beginning to recruit again’


Travel firms are starting to recruit again following a slowdown but enticing the next generation to join the sector remains a challenge, say HR and recruitment experts. C&M Recruitment director


Barbara Kolosinska said the market had improved each month since September 2020. She said: “A year ago, I would


have said it was more difficult [to recruit]; now, we are seeing green shoots every month. Companies are beginning to recruit again.” But there is still a surplus of


10 3 JUNE 2021


Employers will find it a bit more difficult to push these requests back because people have proved it can work


Travlaw partner Ami Naru stressed


employees must have the consent of their employer by law to work from home, but agreed: “Employers will find it a bit more difficult to push these requests back because people have proved it can work.” C&M Recruitment director Barbara Kolosinska said most


Barbara Kolosinska Employees must have consent to work from home


companies already offered some level of flexible working “because most candidates expect it when they go for a job”, adding that employers offering flexible policies attracted a wider pool of applicants for job vacancies. Steiner highlighted the need


for firms to learn how to support remote working. “As working from home becomes long-term and formal, managers and business leaders will need training on


how to support people in hybrid environments,” she said. Naru added there were “a lot


of processes to be put in place” as companies adjusted. She said: “How do you do


appraisals if people are not in the office? How do you onboard staff if they are not there? A lot of processes need to be ironed-out for working from home if it is going to be here for the long term.”


Employers ‘should spell out to staff the consequences of having to quarantine’


people looking for jobs and not enough jobs in the market, she said. HR and talent professional


Claire Steiner said the challenge was to attract “emerging talent” and reassure those training that they had not “made a mistake” by choosing the sector. “For the next generation, we


do have a challenge,” she said. “We need to get out there and remind people what a great sector it is.”


Firms could change their holiday policies and ask staff to disclose their travel plans because of the potential impact on the workplace of employees having to quarantine. The current traffic light system


means holidaymakers must quarantine on return from amber and red destinations, and take tests prior to and after travel to all destinations, including green. Anyone who tests positive must quarantine. Travlaw partner Ami Naru said it was “acceptable” for employers


to alter policies to ask staff about their travel plans as long as they explained the rationale. She said: “The key point here


is explaining to staff why it is you need to know.” Naru urged companies to


communicate their annual-leave strategies with staff. She added: “Employers need


to be clear with staff about the consequences of coming back and needing to quarantine, particularly if they cannot work from home and need to take unpaid leave.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURES: Shutterstock/DimaBerlin; Steve Dunlop


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