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Advice for navigating your business through COVID-19

As the world lingers in uncertainty with COVID-19, and businesses adjust to remote working,  temporary shutdowns, impact on commercial contracts and in some instances closure, there are many questions surfacing around what is legally correct throughout each process. 

At Retailworld making connections is what we do best and so we wanted to share with you some viable, informative sources for legal advice that might be useful while navigating your business and staff through the Coronavirus era.

Below we’ve included some useful links from Australian firm Aspect Legal and director Joanna Oakley, covering most of the common questions being asked by employers and employees at present. 

The first rule of the game is staying in the game.
This podcast covers business risk assessment, making necessary calls on your debtors, insolvency safe harbour and other proactive steps to take. It’s a great resource for SME’s who may have unanswered questions about being prepared for the future. 

Employment: Leave and Standowns 
This article walks you through what is legally obligated from an employer managing their employees with various types of leave. You may be asking what leave can be used or not used if an employee needs to self isolate or if they need to look after a dependant who is ill. 

Implications on commercial contracts
This is both a podcast and an article so take your pick! Find out what happens to your commercial contracts from suppliers, force majeure closures - what they are and why you should be paying attention to them. This will help you get on the front foot of any uncertainty you may be feeling in the current climate with your existing contracts. 

Please note these links are focused to Australia, if you’re looking for advice for New Zealand we’d recommend checking out the Employers and Manufacturing Association’s COVID-19 site here.

Looking for something more specific to the retail industry?
Check out the resources provided by the Australian Retail Association here.  For New Zealand head to Retail NZ's website here.