The announcement by the Prime Minister that people who couldn’t work from home should return to work was met with a mixture of relief and worry by many business owners. Weeks of lockdown, queues outside shops, and a focus on social distancing have left many questioning whether they can return to business as usual while still maintaining social distancing guidelines.
No matter what your industry or sector is, a return to work will definitely not feel like business as usual. Over the last few weeks there have been a load of viral videos about working in the catering industry while social distancing at the same time. Yes, it was amusing to watch a waitress flinging glasses of water at a table but there is also a stark reminder that employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that their teams are safe.
It’s time for a new risk assessment
Before you invite your workforce back, you must revisit your existing risk assessments and make sure that Covid-19 is included in them. Things you will need to consider include:
- Will your team be able to work 2 meters apart?
- Will they need to wear PPE and are you able to supply it?
- Are they able to take regular breaks to wash their hands?
- Will you need to change work practices to ensure that they aren’t hot desking/sharing tools/equipment?
- Will you need to change the cleaning schedule to incorporate regular deep cleans?
Explain your new Health & Safety Regulations to your team
Before your staff return to work, you will need to explain the new H&S regulations to them. After all, there’s no point having a risk assessment if the only person who knows about it is you. Your staff will need to sign to say that they have read and understood them before they can come back to work.
This brings up the question of what happens if they refuse to sign them or feel unsafe returning to work. If you have put every measure in place to ensure their safety and there is no reasonable reason why they shouldn’t return to work, you can place them on unpaid leave or (at the very worst) begin disciplinary procedures. However, make sure that you have discussed and documented all conversations with your employees and taken every step to understand your employees concerns before taking any action and if you are unsure, give one of our team a call who can help you to make the right decision in the individual circumstances.
Ensure that PPE is used and social distancing happens
You’ve created a new Health and Safety document, your staff have signed the new document, now you have to make sure that any changes are implemented and enforced. If PPE is required to be worn, you and your staff must make sure you wear it. You should also investigate resetting things like break times and start and finish times to allow for social distancing. Staggering start and finish times will stop bottlenecks at entrances and reduce the risk of infection, while staggered break times allows everyone to safely use facilities. While we’re on the subject, the habit of making cups of tea and coffee for everyone, is going to be a big no-no from now on (there’s someone in every workplace breathing a sigh of relief).
Everyone needs to be alert to symptoms
Just because we’re being encouraged to return to work, doesn’t mean that Covid-19 has gone away. Everyone still needs to self-monitor for signs and symptoms not only in themselves but also in the people they live with. The Covid Symptom Study App is a really handy tool for this. If anyone does show symptoms, they must self-isolate immediately and seek testing. With increasingly wider testing available it may also be possible for people they have come in contact with to also get tested.
Keep up to date with Government guidelines
It’s worth remembering that this is still a fast-moving situation, no matter how long and boring lockdown may have felt. So, guidelines will constantly be changing as we learn more and more about the virus. Keep up to date with HSE guidance and the Government’s advice to employers on Covid-19. There is a lot of advice out there so, if you need to speak to an HR professional or are feeling overwhelmed by what you need to do to get your business up and running again, give Jackie and the Dakota Blue Team a call.