Yesterday evening the government published safety guidance for businesses – Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)
The introduction to the document reads:
Employers have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures.
Employers must work with any other employers or contractors sharing the workplace so that everybody’s health and safety is protected.
In the context of COVID-19 this means working through these steps in order:
In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning.
Businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to enable working from home as a first option.
Where working from home is not possible, workplaces should make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government (keeping people 2m apart wherever possible).
Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.
Further mitigating actions include:
Increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning.
Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible.
Using screens or barriers to separate people from each other.
Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible.
Reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others).
Finally, if people must work face-to-face for a sustained period with more than a small group of fixed partners, then you will need to assess whether the activity can safely go ahead.
No one is obliged to work in an unsafe work environment.
In your assessment you should have particular regard to whether the people doing the work are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
The recommendations in the rest of this document are ones you should consider as you go through this process.
You could also consider any advice that has been produced specifically for your sector, for example by trade associations or trades unions.
If you have not already done so, you should carry out an assessment of the risks posed by COVID-19 in your workplace as soon as possible.
Specific guidance for offices and contact centres
Specific guidance for people working in, visiting or delivering to other people’s homes
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