Just as we thought we were regaining some sense of normality maybe it’s time to take another look at our workplaces and review how we are doing.
I think we were all understandably shocked by last week’s news of a lockdown in Leicester due to a spike in COVID-19 in that area. The case of the meat packing plant in Wales which has had to close after 160 of its employees tested positive also gives us pause for thought; we don’t want any of our workplaces closed down again!
We advised you on how to manage a return to the workplace;
- Undertake risk assessments
- Retrain/brief all employees on what you have done and on their responsibilities in the workplace
- Realign your working spaces to allow for social distancing
- Provide hand and surface sanitisers
- Encourage/enforce hand washing
- Provide advice to employees
to name but a few.
It seems timely, as some organisations may not recognise the risk of a second wave, to review those practices and ensure that things haven’t slipped, it’s easy to slip into old habits – do we all strictly observe social distancing now? Especially when the official advice seems a bit unclear; 2 metres [if you can] 1 metre [if you can’t], so is 1 metre ok or not?
It is likely that employees will also be interacting with others outside of the workplace which may increase the risk of them (unknowingly) contracting the virus and/or bringing into the workplace.
The Government is asking all businesses to look at the following:
- Avoiding face to face seating arrangements in the office by changing office layouts where applicable
- Reducing the number of employees in enclosed spaces
- Improving ventilation or ensure ventilation systems are working as they should
- Setting up protective screens and provide face coverings – e.g. face masks or shields
- Putting in place rules for managing social spaces – e.g. one person in a small kitchen at a time (or more, depending on the size of said kitchen space)
- Providing hand sanitisers and surface cleaning wipes
- Promoting regular hand washing
- Allowing employees to work from home if it is possible for them to do so, or change shift patterns to reduce the number of staff on duty at any given time
We also suggest:
- Reviewing the risk assessments you carried out prior to people returning to the workplace. Has anything changed? Maybe you now have more people in the workspace?
- Revisiting your employee briefing/training and providing an updated version. Point up on any “slippages” and reinforce positive behaviour.
Understand and empathise with how difficult everyone is finding it at the moment; no handshakes, no hugs, remembering to stand apart when taking a break. It’s all difficult, different and stressful so we all need to be supportive of one another.
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