Four Weeks on. What have Letting Agencies been doing to Deal with the "New Normal" ?
Just over a month ago, we watching how Covid-19 was unravelling life in Italy, Spain, Germany & France; the national press were telling us what the impact of Covid-19 could potentially be in the UK, yet even as we witnessed what was going on in mainland Europe, nothing prepared us for the domino effect this illness would have on our green and pleasant land.
March 17th, the Chancellor says that " We will do whatever it takes to protect our people and businesses from the effects of this global economic emergency brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic."
Soon after, the landscape of the country changed beyond all recognition, no plans in place, no blueprint to refer back to, emergency legislation was put in place to deal with these unprecedented times.
As the situation evolved, letting agents began dealing with their "New Normal". A review of the last 4 weeks, gives us an idea of just what strategies needed to be put in place, and looking forward, what needs to be done when businesses begin to open again.
Furlough - Introduced into the English Language in the 1600s. Now one of the most commonly referred to words in the UK.
Furlough, what does it mean and how is the word pronounced? Does it rhyme with Rough or Dough? This tells you just how uncommon the word is, or was until March 2020.
Employment Law is bound by a very specific set of rules that impacts every working person, and of course it’s important that an employee understands their rights. The impact of Covid-19 has caused a “domino effect” (understatement) in every aspect of life as we knew it, none more serious than a person’s livelihood. By the end of Week 2 of the lockdown, 1 million people had registered on the DWP website applying for Universal Credit. There are no statistics available that provide the background of applicants, yet needless to say there is a much greater need than before this crisis for help .
E-Learning is Child's Play - Or is it?
Covid-19 or Coronavirus has changed our view of the World. How we behave and interact with others has been shaped by this virus. For the cynics, who felt that tech, Social Media, a way of staying connected that did not involve Zoom, FaceTime or Skype, could never have predicted that this time would come.
As a traditionalist when it comes to education, it is human interaction that drives and motivates me, the connection with learners and how we bounce off one another is inspirational. However, for many years teaching and education have evolved. The virus has caused the classroom and lecture theatres to be moved completely to the online platform. Now more than ever, there is a need to adapt and change.
New Vocabulary Created by a Pandemic
On the 12th March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Europe’s Standing Committee of the Regional Committee met. Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, briefed the group on the rapid escalation of COVID-19 in the WHO European Region, now placing it at the centre of this pandemic.
As of the morning of 12 March, there were more than 20 000 confirmed cases and there were almost 1000 deaths in the European Region. The meeting followed the announcement that COVID-19 would be characterised as a “Pandemic”. Pandemic differs to an Epidemic because whilst an Epidemic is a disease that affects a large number of people within a community, population, or region, a Pandemic an epidemic that’s spread over multiple countries or continents. Hence our familiarity with this word.