Preparing your organisation and staff for home working
Advice from the National Cyber Security Office on making sure your organisation is prepared for an increase in home working and advice on spotting coronavirus (COVID-19) scam emails.
You can always find the latest Scottish Government updates here: LINK
For specific Scottish Government sector guidance follow these quick links, Performing Arts and Venues sector guidance and Events sector guidance.
Since Tuesday 5 January, mainland Scotland’s COVID-19 Protective Framework Level has moved from Level 4 to a temporary Lockdown, with new guidance to stay at home except for essential purposes. On Tuesday 24 February the First Minister published the revised Strategic Framework to gradually ease COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland.
The updated Strategic Framework sets out the six tools the Scottish Government will use to restore, on a phased basis, greater normality to our everyday lives. Scotland would then revert to a similar levels based system that was in place towards the end of 2020.
The six tools are defined as:
There is likely to be a gap of at least three weeks between each easing of restrictions to assess the impact of changes and to check that it is safe to proceed further using the six conditions for safe easing set out by the World Health Organisation. Under the current timeline, it could mean that from the last week of April we could see a phased but significant re-opening of the economy, including non-essential retail, hospitality and services like gyms and hairdressers.
Amongst the limited reasonable reasons to leave your home during the current restrictions are provisions for caring, outdoor exercise and going to work, but only if that work cannot be done from home. FST approached the Scottish Government to confirm how these new rules can be interpreted for the ongoing work of our members and we have been given the following guidance:
You can always find the latest UK Government updates can be found here: LINK.
The following COVID-19 financial support is currently available through the UK Government:
FST continues to liaise with the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to ensure the diverse needs of our sector are represented and heard. We will continue to update the membership via email, our website and social media as soon as we can ensure that information is accurate.
If you have any questions or enquiries during this time, regarding FST in general or more specifically concerning a particular issue then please email us at hello@scottishtheare.org
Below you can find further news, resources and advice relating to COVID-19.
Advice from the National Cyber Security Office on making sure your organisation is prepared for an increase in home working and advice on spotting coronavirus (COVID-19) scam emails.
The Charity Excellence Framework prepared this comprehensive list of funders divided into geographical areas as well as by target beneficiaries / areas of operations. Log in on their website to access this free resource:
This update from Turcan Connell relates specifically to registered charities and their trustees.
Links to resources from Arts&Business Scotland, Anderson Strathern, Scott-Moncrieff and Money Saving Expert.
Letter written by Theatre NI, UK Theatre, SOLT, Creu Cymru, National Theatre of Wales and Federation of Scottish Theatre to UK Parliaments that represent culture both in government and their shadows. Dated 26 March 2020.
The UK Government has published guidance for employers and employees on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We are pleased to report that Scottish Government and Creative Scotland have confirmed that arts organisations ARE ABLE to apply for this funding, which is available to support full and part time staff, staff on agency contracts and staff on flexible or zero-hours contracts. The […]
Law At Work (LAW) offer a number of free resources and advice packages to Employers who would like to receive some help in navigating employment law during the Covid-19 pandemic. LAW are also offering 3-month or 12-month contracts for support on employment law and health & safety. These contracts enable employers to receive bespoke advice on their specific […]
Andonella Thomson, a coach, trainer, motivator and mentor at Kingscavil Consulting, who is also going to run the next FST Mentoring Programme, put together a great list of tips and suggestions that will make working from home easier: There are loads of emails coming in about what companies are doing to be extra vigilant. Are you […]
Creative Entrepreneurs Club removed the member fee from their online platform in order to offer the wider creative community a place to organise work and provide support around mental health, advice, and more. Check out their website here: https://creativeentrepreneursclub.co.uk/ You can follow an FST Member, Sandy Thomson, who’s been gathering a wide range of advice for this […]
A generous offer of help for theatre freelancers comes from Michael John O’Neil: he is a producer & dramaturg w/ experience in fundraising, artist/project development, project management, script reading etc. Every Monday he is working 10am – 6pm on other people’s projects, without charge:
The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) is a £20m emergency fund for charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations working in Scotland. The fund will support organisations that already deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The primary intention of the fund is to […]
Creative Scotland have pulled together an A-Z of funding and resources available to those in the creative community, who have been affected by Coronavirus: https://www.creativescotland.com/resources/professional-resources/covid-19-directory