Questions and Answers

Thank you for raising this question – it is really important that we ensure people are properly equipped whilst working remotely.  Please can you talk with your line manager about completing a Self-risk assessment and from this completed form we can identify what equipment you need.  If there is a requirement for any DSE equipment such as an appropriate work chair, then IT will order the equipment and ensure delivery to your home address.  Please contact HR if you need any help with the self assessment.

We would love to be able to provide certainty about how long working from home will continue but at this stage we must be guided by the advice given locally in each of the countries that we operate with the aim being to minimise movement.  We will of course keep you updated on the status.

Our understanding at this point in time is that the factory will be closed for a period of two weeks with the ambition to reopen for the beginning of April.  We do however recognise that this is an ever evolving situation and we will continue to monitor the directions and advice – keeping everyone in Colart updated.

This would have absolutely been the ideal situation but unfortunately the situation moved extremely quickly in France.  The severity of the government decision took us by surprise and it was vital that we focused on ensuring a measured shut down within the timescales allowed, enabling us to dispatch as much as possible to the US market.  We realise this does not satisfy customer needs elsewhere but we hope our actions can be understood.

These are indeed exceptional times.  With full openness we are explaining the challenges and what is being done in each business unit to ensure their protection whilst at work – and with openness we are respecting people’s views and accommodating personal challenges with respect to outside commitments.  In response, the passion from our people to support continued operations has been outstanding: this has been demonstrated through continued focus on quality – not just in service to our customers but also commitment to the safety and protection protocols.  What’s more, we have seen innovation in the way the business units are working in response to the clear challenges with the desire to keep the business open.  This doesn’t directly answer your question as sometimes there can be no simple yes/no response….but to the question are we acting as a Colart Family to try to cope with what we are facing?….Most definitely, and thank you!

This is a good question and one that is being considered.  Clearly our focus has to be to restore Tianjin’s output and service level for current workload as restrictions are still applicable and then we will be able to look at where and how Tianjin can support the rest of the group.  You can be assured that the leadership team in Tianjin are focused on ensuring a readiness to help.

There are very few people working in the head office as we have asked for everyone to work from home.  However for those people who do come in because they are able to avoid using public transport, our insistence would be on strictly maintaining social distancing and hand washing frequency.  We are also shipping additional face masks from China to all business units so that masks are available to our people. 

In reality the most important action that we can take as individuals to minimise our risk is to wash our hands very regularly through out the day.  Having said this we will of course look at increasing the frequency of cleaning for areas that have a higher thoroughfare.

All of our people who are still working at this point in time are our priority and we have introduced operating procedures to maximise the hygiene and protection within our business units in line with best practice.

At this point in time, the following factories are operational:  Lowestoft for brushes, Minehead for face paint, Tianjin for paint.  Plus the following distribution centres: Piscataway for the US market and Kidderminster for the UK market.  We will of course closely monitor the situation in addition to ensuring the ongoing protection of our people.

At this point in time of our two paint making factories: Le Mans is temporarily closed and Tianjin is operational following very strict guidelines to ensure the safety of our people.

This is an ever evolving situation and we are both aligning to government advice and working hard to follow best practice guidance to ensure the protection of our people.  For this reason we have insisted on home working where possible and introduced very strict operating guidelines (based on our experience in China) for business units that are still working to service the needs of our customers and consumers.

We are following our local payment rules for each business unit to ensure we are following best practice guidance to minimise any financial detriment to our people.  These rules will be communicated locally to our people in each business unit as relevant. 

We understand the challenges that our people are now going to face in terms of balance work demands with the demands of being a parent with home schooling or indeed having elderly relatives who need support and care.  Clearly there is not a one answer that suits all as every situation is different so we would ask you in the first instance to make your challenges known to your line manager so that a way forward can be agreed that works for both you and Colart.  Of course you local HR BP can support if there are any sensitive matters to discuss.  The main objective is to stay connected and support each other.

Yes absolutely, we have been discussing this subject and Dennis plans to organise a bi-weekly webinar from next week that anyone can join in to.  More details with the webinar link will be communicated shortly

This is an important question as we all need to take responsibility for not only ourselves but also others.  If you feel that you have a fever or you start having a persistent cough then you should stay at home and contact your local medical official for advice.