This is worklife from bbc news, with Sally Bundock and karin giannone. Office Health Checks and working from home. Companies race to find ways to make sure staff keep operating during the coronavirus outbreak. Live from london, thats our top story on wednesday 4th of march. Firms beef up their Business Continuity plans as the Economic Impact of the virus continues to spread. Well assesss what this means for you. Also in the programme. Fears of a global drugs shortage as india cuts exports because of the virus. Our Asia Business hub
is standing by with the latest. But some companies are actually doing rather well as a result of the outbreak. Well hear more from new york. And the finances of fragrance. Well find out why smelling good is big business. And as businesses adapt and prepare for coronavirus, we are discussing working from home. So we want to know whether you work from home already . Have you got a job that you cant do at home . Let us know, just use the hashtag bbcworklife. Hello and welcome to worklife. I dont think i could do myjob from home, my living room isjust not up to scratch. It would need a makeover, desperately we start with the spread of the coronavirus. Weve seen big Financial Institutions like the Us Central Bank and world bank, acting to try to ease the the Economic Impact. But closer to home many employers
are also looking at ways of weathering the storm. Theyre trying everything from operating split teams to prevent contamination between staff to getting people to work from home. The uk warned up to a fifth of the workforce may be off sick during the peak of an epidemic in britain, as Prime Minister borisjohnson detailed the governments latest plans. Social media giant twitter has strongly encouraged 5,000 employees around the world to work from home and made it compulsory for staff in hong kong, japan and south korea. Home working was on the rise before the outbreak but is still fairly uncommon. In the us only 5 of the workforce normally works from home although two thirds do so occasionally. By 2025, some 70 of the us workforce will work remotely at least five days a month. Were nowjoined by dr anne sammon, whos a partner at employment and reward group, pinsent masons. Welcome. If employers have been thinking about how to enable staff to work at home already, this has accelerated things dramatically. Absolutely, we had seen a real uptick in the number of people being allowed to work from home over recent yea rs. Allowed to work from home over recent years. How feasible is it, looking at the employment market widely . There are always going to be thejobs widely . There are always going to be the jobs that you cant do from home. There are some jobs you cant do from home, there are also the questions about whether the systems are in place to allow large numbers of people to work from home. Are in place to allow large numbers of people to work from homem are in place to allow large numbers of people to work from home. Is the mind set that employees would be ready to do it, are they at open minded, do they like it overtake avoided at all cost . I think most employers would think one or two
days from home is ok, but there are real issues around team dynamics. Its difficult to build rapport with your colleagues if you only speak to them only the phone. Also logistics like for example, having a laptop thatis like for example, having a laptop that is compatible with all the work softwa re that is compatible with all the Work Software systems, secure, and what if you havent got any decent wi fi at home or broadband . All those logistics, theres a lot to take in. Exactly, and a lot of those things tend to fall on the employee, broadband being up to speed doesnt tend to be something that the employer would worry about. tend to be something that the employer would worry about. I wanted to ask about what it means if employees are going to self isolate, and what their rights are if there isnt a clear message saying that the employee should stay at home . They will get set statutory sick pay if they have got an official
notification to say that they have to self isolate, not if they have just googled and you think you should have to. But what about people who have kids because their schools are shut, but those who are self employed, also people with the gig economy, where they stand . Looking after children first, at the moment, that is unpaid leave so you are not even entitled to statutory sick pay. Anyone working in the gig economy, unless you have got some sort of insurance which will pay to cover you in those circumstances, you will get no pay. We appreciate your time. So many questions to answer, we will hopefully speak to you again. Keep sending in your comments, we love to hear from you. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. Facebook is reported to be rethinking its plans for a digital currency
following resistance from regulators. The Company Announced last year that it would launch the currency called libra in a bid to make payments easier and cheaper. According to bloomberg the firm is now considering a system with digital versions of established currencies, including the dollar and euro. Toyota has announced a huge 70 drop in car sales in china, as the country stuggles with the coronavirus epidemic. China is the Worlds Largest car market, and according to the countrys Passenger CarAssociation Overall car sales dropped 89 in the first 23 days of february. Australias economy expanded by 2. 2 in the final three months of last year. Thats higher than economists were expecting but doesnt include the effects from the recent bushfires. Growth for the early part of this year will likely also take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak. Now lets turn to india where there are fears of global
shortages of some common drugs after India Limited the export of certain medicines due to the coronavirus. Lets cross to our Asia Business hub now where Sharanjit Leyl has been following the story for us. Its the kind of bet since many of us its the kind of bet since many of us rely on when we have a headache, oi us rely on when we have a headache, orare us rely on when we have a headache, or are fever, paracetamol, us rely on when we have a headache, orare fever, paracetamol, i imagine people will run out of the door to stockpile now. Its a bit alarming but he said it, indian drug are among the Worlds Largest suppliers of generic drug so it is incredibly worrying that they have restricted export of 26 key ingredients. Paracetamol is restricted, it is one of the worlds most widely used pain relievers. This all comes as drug manufacturers in china remain shut oi manufacturers in china remain shut or have cut production. India relies on china for active ingredients for
their medicines and Industry Experts say there could be shortages. 10 of all indian pharmaceutical exports are affected, it includes hormones, vitamin b12. Scarcity of ingredients is already forcing up prices by the Indian Government has urged calm over the announcement and says there was enough in terms of stockpile to last up to three months. We shall watch this space. Lets see how the Financial Markets are coping today. Asia, a flat and a mixed picture. Heavy losses the night before, but wall street seeing a real sell off, despite the action of the federal reserve, that surprise no. 5 cut in Interest Rates in the us, it did nothing to boost wall street. Lets look at europe. Things are slightly up if
not down in paris, it seems that investors are on the sidelines. It will be volatile for some time depending on the news stories. That is the scene in europe at the moment. Now to the us, where over the past week weve seen some volatile moves on wall street. However not all companies have seen heavy losses. Samira hussain has more from new york. As us Financial Markets have plunged in the last few weeks, the share price for zoom has skyrocketed more than 50 in the last month. So what does this company do . Well, its a Video Conferencing service that allows employees to participate in meetings remotely. Given the news about coronavirus and people being quarantined, investors are betting a lot more companies will invest in this kind of technology. Now, this is a relatively new company, it only started trading on the Public Exchange last april. When zoom reports earnings on wednesday, investors will want to know how it will take advantage of all of this interest in their product. Basically, how will they translate all the hype into actual dollars and cents. Time now for our daily look at some of the newspaper and website stories which have caught our eye. Joining me is miatta fahnbulleh, chief executive, new economics foundation. A story that we keep seeing on the guardian, we have chosen to look at, women working forfree guardian, we have chosen to look at, women working for free for two months yeah, still. Still, absolutely. The gender pay gap, the perennial problem, we still havent cracked it. The rate at which we are closing the gender pay gap, it will ta ke closing the gender pay gap, it will take is 50 years. So someones entire career. Exactly, this analysis has been done by the trade Union Congress and they have looked at the pay differential and translated it into terms of the number of days that womens work for free, which is 63, which is staggering. The government says the
company needs to be transparent about the gender pay gap, it is a step in the right direction but being transparent does not necessarily translate into action. So people are calling for tougher action, audits, clear plans that are legally binding, and companies being fined if they dont take action. This looks at women, if you look at certain types within that broad group, it even worse. Absolutely, and one of the difficulties, there are and one of the difficulties, there a re lots of and one of the difficulties, there are lots of things which drive the gender pay gap. 0ne are lots of things which drive the gender pay gap. One of the things is that certain sectors, for example the care sector, which is absolutely vital, looking after our kids and older people, is really underpaid. Thats depressing wages for women across the piece. Lots of Different Things need to be addressed but one of the questions is, are we valuing certain sectors as long much as we should be . So 63 days texas to about now, up to now, you have been earning forfree. Lets look at this story in the
times, built on the green belt to give young people homes, saying top adviser. Its very controversial, the green belt, whenever it is under threat near you, huge protests and local anger and demonstrations, what are your thoughts . There is an successive governments have been unwilling to touch this. The expert says, we are reaching a tipping point, we all know we have the highest housing crisis but we will now have more people who cannot afford their own homes than owning their own homes so at some point you have to confront that. An added dimension is climate change. At the moment lots of our housing is done on flood plains, and we have seen with the floods, this is no longer something which is viable. Given that, we now have to have tough conversations about where you build. My conversations about where you build. My view is, the green belt, i3 of oui my view is, the green belt, i3 of our land is green belt, i of our land is built on. There is a real
imbalance and not all of the green belt is environmentally good. The question is, why dont we build on some of the green belt which does not have environmental value and create environmental space which generally adds to biodiversity and other things . We have a budget coming up soon, iith other things . We have a budget coming up soon, 11th march, guardian looking at whether there will be stuff in the budget to kick start a decarbonise economy. Could there be anything about housing, could there bea anything about housing, could there be a give to mute the impact of coronavirus . The budget will be interesting because this is the first budget that the government gets to set out its stall and tell the country what it wants to do. We know that the chancellor is rewriting the budget because not enough was done for coronavirus, the question will be what they take money away from to do that. They will be thinking about how to manage this, how they ensure supplies, ensure that they help businesses
manage this. I dont think they are necessarily thinking about how you can manage the Economic Impact of this. If there is a global slowdown and a recession, how is the government providing fiscal stimulus . This is where the piece is quite interesting because one of the ways in which government can stimulate is investing in the green stuff. This is a massive curveball in the uk, we are supposed to be negotiating a trade agreement with the eu, theres so much going on, but youre not allowed to say anything in response because we are out of time so good to see you. Still to come. A passion for perfume. Well find out companies sniff out profits from the fragrance industry. Youre with worklife from bbc news. More than 90,000 people work in uk film making but the British Film Institute estimates 10,000 more are needed over the next five years
and there are concerns there could be a skills gap. Nina is on the harry potter set at the Warner Brothers studio tour in watford. You are looking into this for us, tell us more. Yes, good morning to you. Welcome to where the magic happens. Behind the scenes at the Warner Brothers studio tour. You dont need me to explain where we are, this is the hog the hogwarts great hall, and in the uk we have james bond, paddington, dunkirk, the trajectory for Creative Industries is massive. There is a potential shortfall in manpower, a projection of 10,000 overfive shortfall in manpower, a projection of 10,000 over five years. Shortfall in manpower, a projection of 10,000 overfive years. Lets talk to sarah from the Creative Industries federation. How serious is this, what are the potential ramifications if we cannot fill those gaps . Our skills shortages in
the Creative Sector are very serious, a million newjobs are going to be created by 2030, the industry has grown 60 since 2010. A lack of young people coming into the industry is a very big threat to the growth and future prosperity. Behind that, one in three young people surveyed by warner said theyjust didnt know what the Creative Industries are. Absolutely, so awareness of industries are. Absolutely, so awareness of our industries are. Absolutely, so awareness of our Sector Industries are. Absolutely, so awareness of our sector and understanding the broad range of jobs, notjust in film but across all of our industries from architecture to animation to craft, there are a wealth of opportunities for young people. Creative and technical young people but also a whole bunch of normal administrative roles which help our industry keep going. The scale of the industry, give me that check list of how big it is. The Creative Business is bigger than life sciences, automotive, oil and gas combined, it is an enormous set of industries. And a very vibrant and growing place for young people to come and work. Lots of opportunity both now and into the future. Warner brothers are so concerned about this, they are setting up a careers portalfor young people to look at online to look at more than 100 jobs within the creative industry. And it matters to the uk economy, its worth more than £111 billion in terms of gba every year. Youre watching worklife. A reminder of our top Story Companies around the world beef up their Business Continuity plans as worries about the coronavirus continue to deepen. It comes as economic institutions ranging from the world bank to the Us Federal Reserve step up measures to combat the Financial Impact of the outbreak. Lots of detail about all of that on
our website. Now lets get the inside track on the global fragrance industry. Its market has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2018 it was valued at 41 billion, and according to the Statistics Firm euromonitor its expected to grow to 52 billion by 2025. 0ne firm thats been in the industry for a while is Acqua Di Parma, which was founded in 1916. However the firm faces increasing competition from cheaper rivals. Victoria craig caught up with its chief executive, laura burdese, to find out how she made the leap from International Economics to the beauty industry. Ive always loved International Business in a way, and i think Global Business is about knowing people, and getting to know international world, how the world goes. And i think any Business Needs to start from a deep knowledge of the countries and of the people of the countries, because in the end the customer is at the centre. Its not only something we say is a slogan. Really, we truly believe that
understanding our customers is key. You say you like to see things evolve quickly. Putting into action some of your own big plans at Acqua Di Parma, moving it into a lifestyle brand, why . We started as a personal cologne which was created by a man for himself, actually by a noble from parma. At the time, he created this cologne, the very first italian cologne in a little essential oil workshop down in parma. He created this cologne because at this time he was travelling all over the world, and when he was abroad and the weather was not very nice, and the sun was not there, there was the fog and the rain, he was really lonely and missing the italian sun and the italian world. So thats why he created cologne. He started to distribute this fragrance into tailors. And this is how the whole lifestyle story began. The global fragrance market is expected to reach 52 billion over the next six years. So what are your long term plans for this business . I have to say its a great momentum
for the business worldwide, mainly because the business is getting traction, its going well everywhere in the world but its getting traction in china. There is a certain set sector of the fragrance market which is really booming, which is the so called niche alternative or indie fragrance brand, where we belong. Acqua di parma has always been an exclusive, luxury niche fragrance brand and this segment is really the one thats driving the growth of the whole sector. So is part of your vision, trying to attract younger visitors through offering more experiences at the shops . Absolutely, this is one of our main challenges, actually, to really attract younger customers. Experience is key, but its also key, especially for fragrances because fragrance is about emotions. Its not something very tangible, it opens to memories, it opens to different places in the world. So, like letting our customers live total immersion into the sophisticated italian lifestyle is the best
experience we can offer them. And how does your personal experience, you worked at swatch and calvin klein, now you are with Acqua Di Parma, how does that experience shape the way that you make these decisions in expanding your brand . I think every experience in life and in my career is very much connected. So it really helped me working for Different Companies in different industries, to go to Different Countries with different cultures, because as i said before, this really gave me the broad Global Worldwide view. And its super important now because Acqua Di Parma has always been a very european centred brand, we were born in italy, we are super strong in italy, we are very well known, we have huge brand awareness. Uk is our second countries are also here we are quite well established. Europe is a little bit of our comfort zone. Since ijoined this company, we really want to conquer the world with our sophisticated likeness of italy so thats the main challenge we have. I bet she smells nice. In a moment well run through some viewer responses to our twitter question which today asks how the coronavirus is impacting your work life. But first, manny medina was a boss whose business has literally gone from the brink of bankruptcy to a reported billion dollar valuation. It was when things looked completely bleak that he realised his company had something customers wanted, so they ditched their main product and changed direction. So what advice would manny medina give himself starting out . Lets take a look when i started fundraising, i would meet with people and they would tell me they were very committed, they were very on board and they see the vision. But then they would go away and not fund. When youre having these conversations with early stage investors, dont take a softer circle, dont take a commitment in the form of a verbal yes. Get in front of it and ask for the commitment by when will the funds be in the bank . Give them the wiring instructions and then just ask very bluntly, when will you have it . If not, youll be chasing that person with a very long time without any knowledge as to whether youre going to get the funds are not. Its very frustrating, very distracting and it takes you away from building a big company. At the top of the show, we asked you about about your experiences of working from home . This comes at a time when more companies are making contigency plans due to the coronavirus outbreak. Lets take a look at how some viewers have responded. Homeworking is great but a lot of people will find it very tricky to start with. You need to set boundaries and find some kind of regular conversation and contact. Boom time for zoom and skype. Chelsea says i have asked to work from home, theres literally no reason i could not perform 100 of my duties from my home office, but i have been denied every time. Maybe that will change. Driving instructor, dealing with different
people all day everyday, how do i work from home . Ive got dettol wipes for contact areas. We said we couldnt work from home, but a chilly, we have been com pletely but a chilly, we have been completely proved wrong by one of our colleagues here at the bbc. Lee milner presented the late bulletin from her sofa a month ago. She is wearing unicorn slippers. Apparently she actually did that. Our scepticism about doing ourjob from home is no more, we can. Maybe in your home, not in mine with three little boys running around your home, not in mine with three little boys running around i have a similar picture. We will borrow someone elses came. Keep your comments going, we will keep the conversation going. We love to hear from you and we will be back same time tomorrow, unless we are at home i think we will be here
thanks for watching, goodbye. Good morning. Its been a rather chilly start to the day, we have had some sunshine, in eastern scotland, we have got an area of low pressure spreading in western and southern parts, and that will bring some rain today. That rain will move to the north, there is some uncertainty as to how far north of the rain will be. Certainly increasing cloud particularly in eastern england. The area of that rain, probably somewhere around north wales, towards the wash and the south. Rain spreading eastwards to the north of that line, there will be some brighter skies. 0ne to the north of that line, there will be some brighter skies. One or two showers popping up here and
there, better the sunshine across eastern scotland and northern ireland. Maximum temperature is seven to ten or 11 celsius. Tonight, this is where will to move towards the east this weather front will move towards the east. It will be quite chilly, temperatures below freezing in the north, but in the south where we have the cloud, it will keep the temperatures up to 7 degrees, it acts like a blanket, the area of cloud. A widespread frost across northern france. Thursday, there will be some sunshine in northern areas. Cloudy in the south, further rain spreading through southern areas on thursday, the odd shower into the afternoon. The cloud will break up. So some sunny spells in south and west england. The area of rain clears away and then we have got another weather system moving in for friday, a much weaker affair. Whilst there is a cold front moving eastwards, its going to give us a line of cloud and one or two showers as it moves from western part of the uk towards the east. Friday is a dry day for most, bright with some sunshine, one or two showers which could be wintry over Higher Ground in scotland. Seven to 10 degrees. Then the weekend, a more significant weather system pushes through so on saturday, wet conditions, pretty strong wind as well. By sunday, that where the front of clear away so it will turn more showery and a little bit cooler on sunday. Still quite windy, gusts of 50 miles an hour in some parts. Thats all from me, goodbye. This youre watching bbc news at 9 with me, annita mcveigh. The headlines. With me, annita mcveigh. Wash your hands regularly thats the governments key advice in a new campaign to fight against coronavirus. As the number of coronavirus cases in the uk rises to 53, hospitals in england are urged to do more video consultations to stop the spread of the virus. Super tuesday, a key point in the process to pick a Democratic White House candidate, seesjoe biden and Bernie Sanders emerge as the front runners. This campaign will send donald trump packing were going to win the democratic nomination the home secretary, priti patel,
denies a third bullying claim