Influencing policy and practice through examining UK small business understanding of and response to COVID-19 regulation and guidance

由于政府应对COVID-19而出台的法规迫使企业领导人做出对员工生计、公众和员工健康以及企业的生存能力和生存产生深远影响的决策。至关重要的是，支撑这些决定的是复杂的判断，这些判断是基于他们对监管环境的理解，以及他们区分大量法律义务和不同类型指导的能力。由于资源有限，这对小型企业（0-49名员工）提出了特别重大的挑战。当前的大流行代表了本研究的直接背景，该研究将进行大规模调查，并进行后续访谈，以了解小企业如何接受、理解和采取英国对大流行的监管应对措施，以及应对这一监管挑战的财务、法律和情感成本。在权力下放的国家层面采取的行动以及不同时期监管影响的区域化变化，使英国的监管环境进一步复杂化。该研究与小企业联合会（FSB）合作，将提供证据和见解，为政府应对未来公共卫生危机和后疫情环境下的监管提供信息。它将使那些制定与小企业有关的监管和相关指导的人更清楚地了解企业接受和解释指导的方式，以及他们是否以及如何采取行动。以这种方式进行的监管有可能对雇员的生计、公众和雇员的健康以及英国小企业的生存产生积极影响。

Regulations introduced due to the governmental response to COVID-19 force business leaders to take decisions with far-reaching consequences for employees' livelihoods, public and employee health, and the viability and survival of their businesses. Crucially, what underpins such decisions are complex judgements based on their understanding of the regulatory context and their capacity to discriminate between swathes of legal obligation and guidance of different kinds. This presents a particularly significant challenge to small businesses (0-49 employees) due to their constrained resources. The current pandemic represents the immediate context for this research, which will undertake a large-scale survey with follow-up interviews to understand how small businesses receive, understand and act on the UK's regulatory response to the pandemic and the financial, legal, and emotional costs of complying with this regulatory challenge. The UK regulatory context is further complicated by actions being taken at the level of devolved nations and regionalised variation of regulatory impact at different times. The research, in partnership with the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), will provide evidence and insights to inform governmental regulatory responses to future public health crises and to regulation in a post-COVID landscape. It will arm those who formulate regulation and related guidance relevant to small businesses with greater clarity about the means by which businesses receive and interpret guidance, and whether and how they act on it. Regulation informed in this way has the potential to deliver a positive impact on employees' livelihoods, public and employee health, and the survival of UK small businesses.