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Few people or organisations can claim to have expected or been fully prepared for COVID-19. Its spread requires that not just governments, but companies and individuals take measures to respond as rapidly and effectively as they can to try to limit its impact. Calling on our experience supporting clients with some of the most high-profile outbreaks the world’s already experienced (Ebola, MERS, SARS, etc.). PwC Legal’s already working closely with firms to help them prepare and respond to COVID-19.
Via the links below you can find insights and guidance on how best to improve your crisis management, financial resilience, (re)organise your supply chain and operations, ensure effective communication, support your workforce, deal with the legal impact , etc., use advanced digital technologies to solve emerging issues and much more.
In our experience, we’ve found that firms with a strongly developed crisis response capability are much better placed to manage incidents efficiently, minimise resulting negative impacts, meet government priorities and ensure the continued delivery of critical services.
By now, COVID-19’s stress tested the teleworking facilities of most, if not all, organisations. In a time of “social distancing”, technology’s key to staying connected, which is vital for business continuity.
Read more about Technology, Data Protection & Privacy and COVID-19
As the global response to COVID-19 evolves, organisations start to experience significant operational, financial and liquidity challenges. One of the biggest concerns is how to manage cash pressures to be able to ride out the crisis.
The Belgian government’s far-reaching COVID-19 countermeasures have resulted in the forced closure of businesses in certain industries. Other companies, although not subject to forced closure, are confronted with a reduction of their customer base, production, turnover, etc. as a direct result of the pandemic and can therefore no longer maintain their employees’ normal working schedule. Companies affected can use the system of temporary unemployment for their employees and the Belgian government has already taken steps to simplify and streamline the application procedure in this respect.
In times like these, guaranteeing the continuity of operations is a main concern and challenge for many companies. Whether you’re dealing with disruption in stock levels or distressed clients, we can help you work on different potential scenarios and what they mean for your operations.
Are you agile enough to quickly change your supply chain in function of travel bans, closure of factories, changing government policies, etc.? Are you prepared for the next potential uprise?
Contracts are generally written to cover all types of foreseeable scenarios. But ‘unforeseeable’ is also a known legal concept. Under the current circumstances, many contract parties will no longer be able to perform all contractual obligations, be it those that can’t supply ordered products, borrowers who breach financial covenants, etc. Both parties will need to assess the impact, risks, remediation and enforcement possibilities, in order to take the right decisions.
Proactive communication for all stakeholder groups, based on factual information and not fake news is essential to manage public perception of an outbreak, minimise misinformation and associated panic, and maintain business continuity.
Read more about effective communication & information and COVID-19
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