Background information

BAE Systems is a defence, aerospace and security firm, which employs more than 34,000 people across 62 sites in the UK. Its work includes designing and manufacturing a variety of military platforms and products. BAE Systems carried on some operations during the coronavirus pandemic albeit but with safer working measures in place. Where possible, staff did work from home. However, following the lifting of the first lockdown restrictions in July, the firm worked on ensuring it was safe for large numbers of staff to return to work on their sites.

Although around a quarter of UK employees continued to work from home, the organisation began to incrementally increase the number of employees returning to their normal place of work from July onwards.

Content of measure

The firm implemented a phased return to onsite working for those employees who needed to be present for critical activities, underpinned by a return to work induction process.

Some of the measures BAE Systems introduced include:

• Redesigning production processes; in some instances, splitting tasks between day and night shifts to avoid them running concurrently
• Minimising movement around sites
• Introducing one-way walkways, including on the ships and submarines that are in build
• Changing shift patterns, introducing two-shift working patterns and staggering break times
• Quarantining goods that arrive at sites
• Supplying appropriate personal protective equipment to be used if staff wish
• Introducing new and extended shift patterns in some areas of the business to allow social distancing.

The company introduced two shift-working patterns for many of its employees at Portsmouth Naval Base to allow them to continue delivering essential warship support to the Royal Navy. It also moved to 24/7 working in some areas of its submarine business. At its Typhoon Training Facility at RAF bases, the company created a remote viewing facility, which uses cameras to allow staff to review tasks that require supervision or inspection by a second or third party.

In all these changes, the company states that it worked closely with its employees, trade unions and customers to make significant workplace changes in line with government guidelines to enable employees to work safely.

Use of measure

It covers workers at a number of its production sites. Precise numbers are unknown but the firm employs 34,000 people in the UK.

Contents

• Health and safety
• Work organisation
• Working time flexibility

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	No involvement
Form	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

The company has recognised trade unions and thus, it consulted with these unions at workplace level through its company-specific fora. It is assumed that these unions will have had input on design and implementation, although there is no detail in the public domain, given that this is at the workplace level.

Views and reactions

As the measures are aimed at safe working and maintaining the health of the workforce, it can be assumed that views will be supportive although none are recorded/available.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 23 July 2020: BEIS (2020) Case studies: Working Safely, BAE (businesssupport.blog.gov.uk)