New guidance launched to help get Brits safely back to work

New ‘COVID-19 secure’ guidelines are available to UK employers to help them get their businesses back up and running and workplaces operating as safely as possible.

This follows the Prime Minister setting out steps to beat the virus and restart the economy over the weekend.

The new guidance covers eight workplace settings which are allowed to be open, from outdoor environments and construction sites to factories and takeaways.

The government explained it has consulted approximately 250 stakeholders in preparing the guidance, taking input from firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

“This guidance provides a framework to get the UK back to work in a way that is safe for everyone,” said Business Secretary Alok Sharma.

“These are practical steps to enable employers to identify risks that COVID-19 creates and to take pragmatic measures to mitigate them.”

The guidance applies to businesses currently open, including shops which the government believes may be in a position to begin a phased reopening at the earliest from the 1 June.

Guidance for other sectors that are not currently open will be developed and published ahead of those establishments opening to give those businesses time to plan.

The government also confirmed it will shortly set up taskforces to work with these sectors to develop safe ways for them to open at the earliest point at which it is safe to do so, as well as pilot re-openings to test businesses’ ability to adopt the guidelines.

5 key points

The government’s guidance is focused on five key points, which it said “should be implemented as soon as it is practical”.

These include:

1. Work from home, if you can

The government has said all reasonable steps should be taken by employers to help people work from home. But for those who cannot work from home and whose workplace has not been told to close, the message is clear: you should go to work.

Staff are encouraged to speak to their employer about when their workplace will open.

2. Carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment, in consultation with workers or trade unions

This guidance operates within current health and safety employment and equalities legislation and employers will need to carry out COVID-19 risk assessments in consultation with their workers or trade unions, to establish what guidelines to put in place.

If possible, employers are told to publish the results of their risk assessments on their website, with the government confirming it expects all businesses with over 50 employees to do so.

3. Maintain two metres social distancing, wherever possible

Employers are being told to re-design workspaces to maintain two-metre distances between people by staggering start times, creating one way walk-throughs, opening more entrances and exits, or changing seating layouts in break rooms.

4. Where people cannot be two metres apart, manage transmission risk

Employers are also advised to look into putting barriers in shared spaces, creating workplace shift patterns or fixed teams minimising the number of people in contact with one another, or ensuring colleagues are facing away from each other.

5. Reinforcing cleaning processes

Workplaces are also required to be cleaned more frequently, paying close attention to high-contact objects like door handles and keyboards. Employers are told to provide handwashing facilities or hand sanitisers at entry and exit points.

A downloadable notice is included in the government’s documents, which employers can display in their workplaces to show their employees, customers and other visitors to their workplace, that they have followed this guidance.

There are eight workplace guidance documents now available under working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance.