Risky Business

Many clients have asked whether face-to-face meetings are now encouraged in the workplace. The guidance from the government remains for office workers to work from home (where possible) until early 2021. However, some meetings are being requested to be held on site.

However, our advice is to have a think whether the meeting really does need to be held face-to-face. After all, the more individuals from different areas of the country and different companies in a room may raise the risk of spreading COVID-19. Therefore, it is crucial to consider other alternatives, over the phone, over Microsoft Teams, Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp etc. This keeps employees, clients and external providers safe.

For face-to-face meetings, subject to a risk assessment and individually reviewed for its necessity, we have the following tips.

1. Ensure you remain two meters apart from all participants to the meeting at all times.
2. Wear a face covering during the entirety of the meeting (or, if you are an external contractor, for the whole duration of your visit to client premises).
3. If you are handing a formal document to an employee (at risk letter, termination letter etc) then ask for the employees email address to send this to them after the meeting to prevent the document from having COVID-19 on it.
4. If any participants to the meeting feel unsafe at any point, then you should adjourn and agree a different way for this to take place (i.e. one of the platforms above).

Remember, there are various other ways a meeting can take place during these unprecedented times to ensure we all play our part to keep each other safe.

Please speak to a DLP Advisor if you wish to discuss the above in more detail.

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, FaceTime and WhatsApp are registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Their inclusion here is not an endorsement of the service nor an indication of their endorsement of DLP.