COVID-19 update by Gordon Wilson

Since my last update, things have moved on rapidly and we are making changes daily to how we work. Our priority is still the health of our clients, staff and wider families. In tandem, we are focussing on delivering the highest levels of service and support to our clients.

As a reminder, the last time I wrote to you we had taken the following actions;

1. We will no longer be conducting any face-to-face meetings. As an alternative, meetings will be either by phone or videocall. The planning team can provide guidance on videocalls where this is the preferred option. Fortunately, the technology is very good and all that you require is an iPad or laptop.
2. We have introduced a no handshake policy more widely.
3. We have cancelled any non essential business travel.
4. For staff returning from holidays abroad, in the vast majority of cases we will be asking that they self isolate for 14 days.
5. Where staff may have been in contact with someone who has the virus or if they show any symptoms, no matter how minor, we are asking that they self isolate.
6. We are obtaining more laptops so more of our team can work from home.
7. We hope to provide our normal level of service, however there may be times where we have a small number of staff available for work or whole teams could conceivably be affected at once. There could be periods where our normal service is interrupted. Where you anticipate you need something from us, if we could ask that you give us a much notice as possible. As we deal with third parties for example WRAP providers and fund management groups, we are also reliant on their service standards being maintained. There could be periods where it is more difficult to ‘get things done’!

What we have done in addition;

1. We have now bought enough laptops to allow every member of staff to work from home so service to you will not be interrupted.
2. All staff who fall into the ‘vulnerable’ category or who live with people in the vulnerable category are now 100% home working.
3. For the remainder, we have moved to a rotation model of working. We have two completely separate teams working one week in office, one week at home. This means very few people are in the office at any one time, making the environment more secure. Everyone will be sitting at least one desk apart. It also means that if one member of a team becomes infected and we need to isolate a team, we still have a team who can work from the office.
4. As we are operating a skeleton staff from the offices, with nobody manning receptions, I would ask that you contact your planner by mobile or email rather than calling the office. If you do call the office, please leave a message. We will be checking messages and we will get back to you on the same working day. My mobile is 07812 150354 and my email is gordon.wilson@carbonfinancial.co.uk if you have any difficulty or would just like a chat!

I hope that you understand and that the measures we are taking do not cause you too much inconvenience. It is clearly a very worrying time for families and I hope you are able to stay healthy and Coronavirus free.

You may also be concerned about your investments. Our Investment Director, Barry O’Neill will be posting regular updates on our website. Please visit www.carbonfinancial.co.uk. The directors and planning team are available to speak to you at any time by phone or email. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

As things progress, I will provide further updates as required.

Kind regards

Gordon Wilson
Managing Director