18 March 2020

Following latest Government advice in respect of COVID-19 outbreak

Dear members and stakeholders,

 

Following the latest government advice in respect of the COVID-19 outbreak, CILEx (including the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, CILEx Law School and CILEx Regulation) has reviewed its business continuity arrangements in order to ensure we can continue to run our operations largely as normal and to maintain the best possible service to our members and customers, whilst protecting the health of our employees.  

 

We believe it’s critical to do our part to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and therefore we have implemented a number of measures to protect everyone in this ever-evolving situation:

• We are following government guidance and advice from the NHS and UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and have ceased all face to face events, meetings and non-essential travel. Wherever possible virtual services such as webinars and video conferences are being used to enable our continued interaction with our member network and stakeholder community. 
• Visitors will not be permitted to CILEx premises and our physical workforce will operate at minimum capacity with the majority of services delivered by staff operating remotely. 
• Our customer service team remains available to answer your queries by telephone, however response times may be slower than usual. Alternative contact options remain available via email, our myCILEx portal and social media channels. (#CILEx #staysafe)
  

We are equally committed to taking care of our employees:

• We are providing emergency time off to enable team members to quarantine if necessary without losing pay; 
• We are following medical and hygiene advice to ensure we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff;
• We are asking individuals to refrain from travel unless critical, and have established quarantine procedures after travel to high-risk areas;
• We have invested in our systems and facilities and are providing additional resources to help employees work differently including home-based working and flexible shift patterns to accommodate self-isolation, childcare commitments and social distancing; 
• We are utilising technology and online tools to allow our staff to stay connected with each other and you our members and stakeholders. 
  
  

These measures will remain in place until at least May 2020 but will be kept under review in accordance with government advice and guidance and as the COVID-19 situation evolves. 

 

While the environment around us is uncertain and constantly changing, we are lucky to have a team of dedicated staff who continue to be committed to delivering the best possible service in the circumstances. We ask for your support and understanding, recognising that your interactions with us may need to be through different channels and you may experience slower than usual response rates.

 

Further updates will be provided in line with future developments but in the meantime we hope that you will find our websites, portals and social media channels to be a source of information, support, inspiration and solutions for you during this challenging period.

 

Yours sincerely,

Linda Ford
Chief Executive Officer