May 2020 News and Blogs

The changes follow the third statutory review of the regulations by Welsh Ministers. From Monday 1 June 2020, 2 households in the same local area will be able to meet outdoors. In doing this, however, people must follow social distancing and strict hand hygiene practices to control the spread of the virus. 'Local' means not generally travelling more than 5 miles from home to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading from one area to another...

Charities, schools, and community groups can apply for grants of up to £1,000 through the NFU Mutual Community Giving Fund. The fund is available in areas that are local to NFU operations in the UK. Applications are likely to be more successful if they meet one or more of the following funds priorities: connecting the community; reducing social isolation, providing opportunities, and encouraging resilience providing care and support to vulnerable members of our community relieving...

New measures at the UK border are due to come into effect on 8 June 2020. They include 14 days self-isolation for anyone entering the UK, bar a short list of exemptions. The full list is available on GOV.UK and include: road haulage and freight workers, to ensure the supply of goods is not impacted; medical professionals who are travelling to help with the fight against coronavirus; anyone moving from within the Common Travel Area...

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 many businesses will be forced to put on hold all face-to-face delivery and/or off-site training. This will result in running training programmes that can be delivered online for the foreseeable future. The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) is here to support your business deliver on-line training. The FSP is a Welsh Government funded programme that provides a financial contribution towards the upskilling of employees of businesses based in Wales. This...

Employers, the self-employed and people in control of premises, such as landlords, have a duty to identify and control risks associated with legionella. If your building was closed or has reduced occupancy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, water system stagnation can occur due to lack of use, increasing the risks of Legionnaires’ disease. Please visit the Health and Safety Executive website for further information on how to manage the legionella risks to protect people when...

Pick For Britain helps bring workers and employers together and ensures the UK can continue to deliver the best quality British fruit and veg for everyone to enjoy. The Pick for Britain website has information for growers, recruiters, and agencies that have job opportunities across the country. From pickers and packers, to plant husbandry and tractor or forklift drivers, there are a wide range of roles available. For further information please visit the Pick For...

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to support businesses moving from physical to digital delivery as part of the ongoing Covid-19 response. The guidance has been created specifically to support businesses who are relying more heavily on IT services to run their business. The support package includes guidance on home working, video teleconferencing and spotting email scams related to Covid-19. For further information please visit the NCSC website.

Join a free webinar, hosted by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to find out more about how to make your workplace COVID-19 secure. The webinars cover a range of different types of workplace settings which are allowed to be open. Many businesses operate more than one type of workplace, such as an office, factory and fleet of vehicles. You may need to use more than one of the guides/webinars as you...

Welsh Government have announced details of the next phase of the Economic Resilience Fund. The eligibility checker for new applications will hopefully be open by the middle of June 2020, allowing companies’ time to prepare their applications and Welsh Government expects to open the fund for full applications later in the month. This will enable access to the remaining £100 million of the £300 million already approved and allocated to support micro businesses, small and...

The UK Government want to hear organisations' views on the roles that are being filled by migrant workers, the salaries they are paid and implications of potential changes. In March 2020, the UK Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to compile a UK shortage occupation list (SOL), which will primarily focus on occupations at RQF Level 3-5 (medium skill). This is to be reported in September 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak has placed businesses in...