There’s no doubt that these have been trying times for UK businesses. Along with the global pandemic and repeated periods of lockdown, we have also faced the uncertainty of whether the government would be able to negotiate a deal with Europe to enable us to continue to trade.
But this isn’t the first time that business has faced periods of tremendous uncertainty and it won’t be the last. Learning how to live with uncertainty is part of running a business, as well as learning how to adapt and how to evolve in order to find a way through the difficult times.
There is definitely brighter news on the horizon. The second vaccine developed by Oxford University has been approved and is highly effective and safe. It will be rolled out over the next few months, freeing everyone to return to normal day-to-day activity.
The first few months of this year will still be difficult as we negotiate our way through the third and hopefully last lockdown. But the end is in sight. Once things begin to return to normal, as they will, confidence in small businesses will return stronger than ever.
As well as having two vaccines now on stream to beat the pandemic, we have also had good news on the second major issue that the business community has been facing. A deal has now been negotiated, which takes the uncertainty out of the Brexit situation.
For many of you, Brexit has been a huge headache and there has been a cloud hanging over the whole UK economy for the last four years. Small businesses can begin to invest again and grow their companies, with the way forward clear.
As for us here at Peninsula, we’ve made some innovative changes in the way we sell, service and operate our businesses over the last nine months, which would have taken years in normal circumstances, enabling us to extend our position as market leader in the business consultancy industry.
The next few months of lockdown will continue to present business owners with problems and uncertainties as they work their way into and out of furloughing staff again, gear up or gear down depending upon their business model and need to make decisions on business safety to protect their staff and customers. But with the vaccines coming on stream, we know it is not going to be forever.
In the meantime, we are here 24/7 at Peninsula to help, advise, and be at your side - so whatever the problem, reach out to our Employment Law advice experts or our Health & Safety team and they will be happy to help.
