Major agents have shuttered offices across the UK to trial remote working as part of preventative coronavirus preparations.
Colliers International, JLL and Avison Young have told staff to work from home for a day to iron out any technical difficulties that might arise, should remote working be enforced as coronavirus risks ramp up.
Colliers will close its 16 offices nationwide to trial remote working. Offices based in London will shut this Friday, while regional offices will be closed on Monday.
A Colliers spokesman said: “This is standard stress testing to ensure there is minimal disruption to our clients and that we continue to maintain high levels of client service and standards of productivity in the event of any eventuality that may occur during the challenges that COVID-19 presents.”
JLL will hold its remote working trial day this Friday. All 16 offices across the country, excluding its residential agency shops, will be closed while staff work from home.
Avison Young is also carrying out a remote working test. It will take place on Thursday in its Birmingham office in Brindleyplace, where its 120-strong property management accounts team, based on one floor of the office, has been asked to work from home.
Preparations come as the government is looking to ramp up its efforts to minimise the impact and spread of coronavirus. At the time of writing, the number of cases in the UK stands at 456 and eight people have died of the virus.
The government has estimated a fifth of the UK’s workforce could be out of work on sick leave at any one point as a result.
In today’s Budget, chancellor Rishi Sunak said £12bn had been ringfenced in order to tackle the economic impact of coronavirus.
Statutory sick pay will be paid to everyone who needs to self-isolate because of coronavirus (even if they have no symptoms) and businesses who employ fewer than 250 employees will be able to apply for a full refund for the first 14 days of sick leave each employee takes.
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