In this episode of Coffee with Carl, attorney Carl Zoellner goes over some suggestions for small business owners on accommodating employees who want to return to the office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated September 22, 2020
As we all adjust to the new normal of social distancing and self-quarantine, most businesses that remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic are doing so while employees work from home. However, some business owners may encounter a different conundrum: how to respond to employees who would prefer to return to the office to work.
Many of our clients with active businesses that have been deemed essential still have employees who want to come into the workplace. Although their business may have asked employees to work from home for the foreseeable future, some employees may prefer to work in the office because they feel more productive in the business’s office environment. We’ve actually experienced this ourselves here at Anderson Advisors.
Have an Agreement in Place
To navigate this arena, we drew up an agreement to respond to this type of request and have used it with our own employees. In summary, the agreement says, “I as an employee understand the risk I’m taking. I know I’m not required to be in the office, but I’m choosing to be here because I want to be.” This document is a record between employee and employer. As such, it should be signed and dated.
Having an agreement like this to serve as a record allows you to protect your business if you have employees who prefer to work in the office setting. Basically, it serves as a layer of protection against the employee coming back later and claiming they were put in danger and forced to work in the office. Many of our clients have businesses with dedicated employees who would prefer to work in the office to be more productive. So, this agreement is one way to accommodate that.
If you’re a Platinum client, we’ve actually already provided a sample agreement you can use with your employees in your Platinum portal. If you’re not a Platinum client, I invite you to schedule a complimentary Strategy Session over the phone with a Senior Advisor to discuss the best strategies for your individual situation to lower your taxes and increase profitability.
Watch as Carl covers ways to protect your business while working with employees who may want to return to the office during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Got an idea for a future Coffee with Carl? Send it to Carl at cwc@andersonadvisors.com.
