Lockdown brings about all sorts of issues many people will be working from home and some will be furloughed. Its easy to get sucked in by the work whirlwind. Maybe take some time out, breath and make sure you are fully aware of the latest guidance for working safely during coronavirus or for when you plan to get to the office. The latest guidance was updated yesterday (5th November 2020).
Here are the priority actions to take:
Seven steps to protect yourself, your staff and your customers during coronavirus.
Complete a COVID-19 risk assessment. Share it with all your staff. Find out how to do a risk assessment.
Clean more often. Increase how often you clean surfaces, especially those that are being touched a lot. Ask your staff and your visitors to use hand sanitiser and wash their hands frequently.
Ask your visitors to wear face coverings where required to do so by law. That is especially important if your visitors are likely to be around people they do not normally meet. Some exemptions apply. Check when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make your own.
Make sure everyone is social distancing. Make it easy for everyone to do so by putting up signs or introducing a one-way system that your staff and visitors can follow.
Increase ventilation by keeping doors and windows open where possible and running ventilation systems at all times.
Take part in NHS Test and Trace by keeping a record of all staff and contractors for 21 days. From 18 September, this will be enforced in law. Some exemptions apply. Check ‘Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace’ for details.
Turn people with coronavirus symptoms away. If a staff member (or someone in their household) or a visitor has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell, they should be isolating. By law from 28 September employers must not require someone who is being required to self-isolate to come to work.
Five more things to be aware for people who work in or run offices, contact centres and similar indoor environments:
Work from home if possible. Office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter.
Arrange work spaces to keep staff apart. Consider using barriers to separate people and introduce back-to-back or side-by-side working.
Reduce face-to-face meetings. Encourage calls or video conferences to avoid in-person meetings with external contacts, or colleagues outside someone’s immediate team, wherever possible.
Reduce crowding. Consider how many people can be in each space while remaining socially distant, and consider using booking systems for desks or rooms. Reduce the maximum occupancy for lifts.
Communicate and train. Make sure all staff and visitors are kept up to date with the safety measures.
These are the priority actions to make your business safe during coronavirus. You should also read the full version of the guidance that I've attached below: