COVID-19 Precautions to take in the workplace

These actions can help protect staff and customers.

England:

• Complete a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risk from COVID-19
• Provide adequate ventilation
• Clean more often
• Turn away people with COVID-19 symptoms  – employees with COVID-19 symptoms need to isolate at home, they must not attend the work place
• Enable people to check in at your venue by displaying an NHS QR code poster
• Communicate and train – update your workers, contractors and visitors up-to-date on how you’re using and updating safety measures

Full details are available in Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) which was updated by Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport on 9th November 2021.  

Scotland:

There is guidance to support employers and employees returning to offices, which was updated on 3 November.

• Homeworking – business should support employees to do this
• Have a gradual return to the office
• Precautionary measures; continued use of face coverings, continued compliance with Test and Protect (including self-isolation when necessary), good hand and respiratory hygiene, ongoing promotion of good ventilation and outbreak management to manage and mitigate outbreaks in the workplace.
• Complete refresher training on precautionary measures

 

Wales:

Guidance for employers, businesses and organisations was updated on 4 November. Main points include:

• Complete a risk assessment of premises and activities
• Self-isolate for 10 days if test is positive for COVID-19
• Close contacts to follow rules
• Wear face-coverings in indoor public places

 

Northern Ireland:

Guidance on staying safe at work from nidirect advises to work from home if possible. When employees do return to work:

• complete a COVID-19 workplace risk assessment
• keep distance from colleagues, customers and clients
• face covering to be work
• have good ventilation
• cleaning; hand sanitize, clean surfaces

Sources:Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) – gov.uk updated 9 November 2021Coronavirus (COVID-19): returning to offices – gov.scot updated 3 November 2021 Alert level 0: guidance for employers, businesses and organisations – gov.wales updated 4 November Coronavirus (COVID-19): staying safe at work – nidirect.gov.uk