As the various strains of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) continue to impact the world, we would firstly like to extend our thoughts to those affected by the virus, and to thank the first responders, healthcare professionals and others who are working relentlessly to help our communities to get through this difficult time.
We would now like to take this opportunity to share with you the steps we are implementing to ensure that we continue to offer the service our Clients expect.
In response to the latest Government advice regarding Plan B, we have implemented a business continuity plan following a careful review of the way our business operates. Minor, but imperative, changes have been made to our practice and the delivery of our services to ensure that we can continue to provide our services as normal and as best as possible whilst protecting the health of our Clients, Colleagues and Staff. In order to abide by the social distancing measures as stated by the Government, we have implemented a number of measures to reduce our level of face to face contact with our Clients whilst maintaining business continuity and performance. Please be rest assured that the quality of service we provide will not be impacted by the effects of Coronavirus.
Whilst we will continue business as usual within normal business hours, we have ceased attending and holding face to face meetings and events wherever practically possible. As you will appreciate, all appointments will now be held on a telephone basis and all other contact can be made by phone or email and through our website and social media channels. Visitors will no longer be permitted to attend our offices and we would encourage you all to telephone the person dealing with your case if you require an appointment so steps can be put in place to ensure this is held either via telephone or virtually.
As you will have seen, the government has advised the public to resume working from home and our workforce in the office will therefore be operating at a minimal capacity, with the majority of our employees operating remotely. This has been trialled and tested for all of our employees to ensure that both our Fee Earners and Support Staff can work securely and seamlessly from home. We have provided our employees with all the necessary equipment and additional resources to ensure that they can adapt to a home-based working environment. We are well equipped to deal with this adaptation, and we have recently updated our phone network which is vital for home working as it allows our employees to have a seamless transition of work between the office and their homes.
We would like to remind our Clients that whilst we are working from home, we will always continue to work on our centralised IT system, and our confidentiality measures will remain the same. The privacy of our Clients is integral to our Company and it will remain paramount to us, regardless of how and where we operate.
If you were anticipating visiting our office, please could you now call us and we will accommodate to your needs as best as possible. Whether you are a new or existing Client, we will always support you with your enquiry. We would like to reassure our Clients that whilst we are taking measures for the purpose of social-distancing, Clients will be able to communicate with us easily, as we will be able to continue contact with our Clients and third parties albeit remotely. We understand the concerns of Clients who may not operate via email; however, we will be taking extra measures to ensure that contact can still be established.
During such times of uncertainty, we believe that we owe it to our current and perspective Clients to provide them with a consistent, reliable and professional service out of the office, as we do in the office. We will remain committed to delivering an excellent legal service which is flexible in the manner we have had to choose. Our Team will be working very hard to deal with this pandemic and to assist you in these difficult times. As of yet we are unsure how long this adapted setting will remain, however, this will be kept under review in accordance with Government advice and guidance and as the COVID-19 situation evolves. We will keep you informed of any changes to our business through our social media and website channels.
We would like to thank you for your support and understanding during this difficult time. To get in touch please call us on 01754 897150, email info@hodgkinsons.co.uk, or submit an online contact form and we will be in touch.