NEWS

Thomas Baldwin reports on the closure of the Church of Scotland’s central offices in the wake of the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

THE Church of Scotland’s administrative offices in Edinburgh have been almost entirely closed in response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

The majority of staff at 121 George Street were told to work from home from Wednesday March 18, with only a skeleton of about 30 remaining in the building. A full closure was announced after the implementation of stricter distancing rules the following week.

The office is currently open for just one morning a week for departments to collect mail and to retrieve files or documents for critical work.

In a statement on March 18, Chief Officer Dave Kendall said: “The last few weeks have seen the whole world hugely impacted by the Coronavirus which is now taking a foothold in the UK. It is a time of anxiety for many. The spread of the virus is unprecedented in modern times.

“Our primary concern is the safety and protection of our church members, staff and all those using our facilities whilst ensuring that the central office staff can still provide effective support to our Church over this challenging period.

“Following the latest Government announcements on Monday March 16 it has been decided that we should move to having the majority of our central office staff working from home. This was our anticipated outcome during the contingency planning phase to deal with the virus and work has been progressing in the background to enable this to be an effective strategy.

“In making this decision we have embraced the following principles:

• We have been monitoring the developing situation on a daily basis whilst establishing the necessary arrangements that would enable us to move quickly and decisively in response to events and advice

• The welfare of our congregations, staff and visitors is our primary concern – we are determined to look after our people first and foremost

• We need to equip our central staff with the necessary tools for effective homeworking to enable continued progress with our work and retain the ability for effective interaction with the wider Church infrastructure

• Communication has been a priority, with the goals of being open and honest – this requirement will continue throughout the period of homeworking when continual communication with all staff will remain critical. “The staff have been fully briefed on what is required of them during the period of homeworking, during which there will be a range of restrictions imposed for safety reasons as well as tight controls on expenditure in mitigation of the financial situation that we are facing. In terms of staff welfare there will be regular interactions between the line management in the central office and the homeworking staff.

“At the present time we have no way of accurately predicting how long home working will be necessary. However, a 12 week period has been assumed as the initial timeframe for strategic planning purposes which would take us to June 2020.

The last few weeks have seen the whole world hugely impacted by the Coronavirus which is now taking a foothold in the UK.

“The intention is to continue to provide all our current high priority services to the Church and in support of this all the normal communication lines continue thanks to the fact that a system is in place to divert calls to a number of primary contacts. As a result we can be reached by the usual telephone numbers and email addresses. The bottom line is that we remain open for business to help in any way that we can.

“Finally, I want to thank both the central office staff and the broader Church for the sensible approach and understanding that you have shown over these last few weeks as we respond to this ever changing situation. I know you will understand the urgent need for action.

“All of us will have some personal concerns regarding our health, family, friends, work, finances or simply the fact that this virus is going to massively disrupt our everyday lives. For this reason it is critical that we look after and support each other. “God bless and keep safe.”

At the time of going to press, some central office staff were placed on furlough, reflecting the impact of the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.