If a key project person is unavailable during the move
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Give the deputy the next decisions, their limits and access to the current project record. A large folder labelled "move documents" is a poor substitute for knowing what must happen tomorrow.
Absence cover works best when agreed before the usual coordinator becomes unavailable. The deputy needs time to check the handover and identify decisions that nobody has authorised them to make. This is project coordination guidance, not a method of transferring company signing powers or professional responsibilities.
Start with the next phase decision
This fictional handover describes the next decision and the deputy's limits.
On Thursday, the business will decide whether the packing function can start at the new site. Production remains at the old site. The operations lead owns the readiness evidence. The customer service lead has identified the orders affected. The deputy may convene the review and record its decision. Changes to spending limits, technical acceptance or customer commitments need the named responsible person's approval.
Attach the current evidence location, unresolved questions and contact details through the approved internal system. Identify any decision already made that the deputy must preserve, together with the circumstances requiring it to be reopened.
The phase approval guide gives the meeting a defined scope. A deputy can coordinate that process without claiming to replace every specialist who contributes to it.
Separate authority from availability
Prepare four short handover entries:
- Decisions the deputy may make within an existing, stated limit.
- Decisions they may recommend but must refer for approval.
- Technical or regulated decisions belonging to specified competent people.
- Urgent circumstances that require the existing escalation procedure.
Use the business's actual delegations and obtain confirmation from the responsible people. Do not invent a spending limit to fill an empty field. If a necessary approver will also be absent, resolve the authority gap before relying on the cover arrangement.
Check the deputy's other work. The shared-person schedule may show they already have a full commitment at the other site. Naming them twice does not create additional capacity.
Let the deputy find the answer
Walk through one likely enquiry together. For example, a supplier reports that tomorrow's attendance will be delayed. Can the deputy find the affected milestone, the operational owner and the agreed response route? Can they distinguish an estimate from a confirmed date?
Correct missing access through the appropriate system owner. Avoid solving the problem with shared passwords or uncontrolled copies of confidential material. The handover should point to current records and approved access.
Use the daily move meeting to keep temporary decisions visible. Record what changed during the absence so the returning coordinator does not restore an outdated instruction.
If there is an active surplus-equipment enquiry with UK Auction Group, confirm the temporary contact and explain their scope. Coordinating information does not automatically authorise that person to agree a sale or alter established terms.
Continue with the phased-move guides.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.