Now is the time for your company to show what it is made of, and it has nothing to do with profit, staff retention or recruitment and it needs to be driven at all levels with HR playing a central role.
When the British Government has finished humiliating us and sufficiently bowed to public pressure enough to let our country play its part in the refugee crisis, we will be housing a number of very worried, upset and frightened people from Ukraine, mostly female and children we can assume due to the circumstances, some housed by your employees.
Whilst there will be liaison with the authorities required to facilitate some actions, as an employer you will need to ask yourself some questions and organise a plan of actions now. Some will be possible and some not, but think about these actions, I am sure the list is not exhaustive. Maybe organise an ‘ideas scheme’ now for all employees?
Could we offer employment to a refugee and can we enable creche facilities/childcare?
Can we open our occupational health scheme to provide counselling and simply to check if refugees are OK.
Volunteering for employees to help at centres housing refugees or charities helping them.
Mobile phones will be needed, can we finance some?
If you are a clothing manufacturer/retailer can you donate?
Pharmacies, national and local, can you donate for women and children?
Entertainment/Restaurant Facilities, what can you offer to help assimilate the people coming to Britain?
As a company do you have any housing/hotel/sleeping quarters that may be put to good use?
Toy companies and retailers, what can be donated?
Sports facilities – what can you make available?
Payroll giving – Ensure staff are aware of any scheme but do not pressure people who may be struggling to cope
Please ensure that any contact employees have with refugees is based upon keeping them as safe and welcome as possible. Times like this are an opportunity for wicked individuals to prey upon women and children. Can you organise a mechanism for staff to raise concerns? Let us all do what we can, it can never be enough to compensate what those people are going through.
