For employers in the hospitality sector, it is an incredibly challenging time on many fronts. While furlough may seem on the surface to be a simple fix, we recognise that furlough isn’t free for employers – and for those making tough decisions, it may be difficult to find the balance between seeking immediate solutions and considering the potential long-term impact. Our last Supporters Network Webinar was a hospitality support session, delivered in partnership with Acas.

Joeli Brearley is the founder of charity and campaigning group, Pregnant then Screwed, which works to end the motherhood penalty and supports mothers who face discrimination. Our recent ‘In Conversation with: Joeli Brearley’ event covered the barriers and discrimination pregnant and working mothers experienced before the pandemic hit, and how those have changed or amplified during this time. She shared with employers best practice lessons, areas for consideration, and the strong business case for addressing these issues.

While many aspects of our lives have changed this year, a hard day’s work still deserves a fair day’s pay. The business case for paying the real living wage hasn’t changed, but we recognise and acknowledge that the context has. Our latest Supporters Network Webinar, in partnership with the Greater Manchester Living Wage Campaign, was on the topic of living wage accreditation in the current climate. Our panel - made up of representatives of the Living Wage campaign, employers who have been through the process and a trade union voice, provided guidance through accreditation.

In light of the pandemic and subsequent economic impacts, the unfortunate reality is that not all businesses or roles within organisations will be able to weather the storm. On the surface, redundancy doesn’t seem to have a place in ‘Good Employment’, but now the ‘furlough’ scheme is ending and the alternative measures may not provide sustainability for all, we understand many employers will be considering redundancies. With this in mind, our last Supporters Network Webinar was on doing redundancy right, and our panel provided insight on good employer considerations, guidelines and practical elements – equipping employers with the necessary tools to do so with good employment in mind.

Employee health and wellbeing needs to be prioritised in an organisation, ensuring that mental health, physical health and general wellbeing are at the top of the agenda. This is especially important due to the changed workplaces, increased uncertainty and volatility we’ve all experienced during Covid-19. Our recent Supporters Network Webinar was on this topic - speakers guided participants through the different facets of employee health and wellbeing, including the practical implementations of these measures.

To make specific, measurable and actionable goals when looking at equality within your organisation, you must first understand your starting point. Certain reporting will become mandatory, but going beyond this is necessary to obtain meaningful data, that will give way to positive change. Our last Supporters Network Webinar was on this topic, and speakers discussed how employers can properly monitor, measure and report on equalities.