Covid Update: January 2021 Lockdown
We hope you are safe and well at this time.
We would like to reassure you that Engineius continues to operate its full vehicle movement service across all regions of the UK, following the UK and Scottish Government announcements on 4 January.
Please see full information below. We are very interested to know what impact the restrictions will have on your vehicle movement needs, so please do let us know by clicking the button below.
Regards,
The Engineius Management Team
Context
On 4 January 2021, both the UK and Scottish Governments announced the immediate implementation of lockdown measures on a national basis. This means that all four nations of the UK are back under lockdown conditions, following similar recent announcements by the governments of Wales and Northern Ireland.
Whilst there is variance between the national guidance in some areas, the guidance that workers must continue to “go to work….if you cannot reasonably do so from home” is consistent. Further, businesses in logistics, distribution and other key infrastructure relating to road transport are to remain open.
Our Policy
Engineius will continue to operate its vehicle movement service across all regions of the UK:
For suppliers:
It is the decision of each individual driver and agent as to whether they continue to perform work with Engineius at this time.
We will continue to provide earning opportunities to those that do, and fully respect the wishes of those that do not wish to work
We will be issuing guidance to be extra diligent with personal safety measures throughout the movement process
For staff:
Staff will work from home wherever possible; the office is available to those staff who cannot reasonably work from home.
For customers:
We will continue to communicate regularly should we change our policy or service availability over the coming weeks
See below for further details on service disruption and changes
Disruption & Changes
Whilst regulations will not restrict us from operating, we would however like to highlight the ongoing risk of service disruption during this period.
In particular, in any situation where a supplier’s circumstances mean that he/she has to isolate or stay at home suddenly, rather than work, we will require your patience in securing an alternative supplier. We will of course work hard to keep any delays to a minimum and we will keep you informed of any such incidents.
More generally, the following factors might lead to fewer suppliers being willing to work across the whole of the UK:
Perception of Riskier Areas: Suppliers may be deterred from entering what are seen to be riskier areas (such as Kent & the South East), even though the advice is clear that they should do so if essential for their work.
Reduced Capacity: We anticipate some capacity reduction as some suppliers will inevitably decide not to work in this period. However, there is likely to be a corresponding reduction in demand for vehicle movement in some sectors, and as a result we do not believe this will cause service issues generally.
Disruption to public transport: Whilst there has not been any announcements of disruption to public transport, our experience from running a full service during the first lockdown means we believe there may well be a general reduction in services and/or delays. Where the impact of this will affect the completion of a journey, we will follow the normal procedure of communicating with individual customers as soon as possible.
Northern Ireland: Guidance is clear that those travelling routinely for work can travel to Northern Ireland without needing to quarantine. However, recent movement activity to Northern Ireland has faced significant challenges whilst the Irish Government’s ban on travel from the UK has been in force. This is due to lift on 6 January but may well be extended. Please contact us if you are unsure about whether any movements to Northern Ireland will be affected.
Summary
We are, of course, taking all necessary measures to ensure that all suppliers, customers and staff stay safe at this time. Our full Covid-19 policy can be accessed here. Our contactless handover process can be accessed here.
Should there be any changes to our operation or government policy that affects the vehicle movement industry, we will of course communicate to all relevant parties as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we hope everyone is keeping well and safe.
The Engineius Management Team