Consumer ISG - Holiday Guide 2021 - Flipbook - Page 3
The Hogan Lovells Holiday Guide 2021
Employees united
this holiday season
Jennifer Brechbill, Washington D.C. and Katie McMullan, London
As we enter the second holiday season of the
pandemic, restaurants, stores, and hotels have
had to rethink consumer health and safety, innovating
to attract and retain customers. But they also have
been forced to rethink employee safety and well-being
– often with a not-so-subtle nudge from their workers.
How will consumers shop and eat this holiday season?
That depends, in part, on the measures employers
are taking to protect their workers as well as supply
chain and employee recruitment and retention issues.
In the United States, as workers leave their jobs in record
numbers – and most heavily in industries like hospitality
and retail – companies find themselves competing for
talent. Among other factors like flexibility and childcare,
companies are rethinking employee safety measures.
As of January 2021, more than 230 McDonald’s outlets
were the subject of county, state, or federal coronavirus
complaints. And executives were forced to listen. In
August 2021, after having reopened indoor dining by
70%, McDonald’s Corp leaned on its franchisees to
protect workers, recommending that franchisees close
indoor dining in counties with high-COVID spread. Now,
the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a rule that
will require all employers with 100 or more employees
to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require
any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a
negative test result on at least a weekly basis before
coming to work. It is a measure that will impact over
80 million workers in private sector businesses with
100+ employees. And, polls suggest that more half
of workers are in favor of such vaccine requirements
at their workplaces.
In the United Kingdom, the impact of the pandemic
has also been further exacerbated by Brexit, and
British employers are facing the worst worker
shortages since the late 1990s. Consumers are being
told to expect supply shortages over the holiday
season, in part due to shortages of lorry drivers and
supply chain issues. Interestingly, in an purported
attempt to prioritise employee wellbeing, many large
retailers such as Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s and
Aldi have made the unprecedented announcement
that they will remain closed on Boxing Day this year
in order to allow workers to spend more time with
their loved ones. However, while this is an important
recognition of the strains that both the COVID-19
pandemic and the impacts of Brexit have put upon
workers over the past year, it is also undoubtably a
move to help manage consumers’ delivery expectations
ahead of anticipated difficulties in maintaining
staffing levels and stock over the holiday season.
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