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By LegalEdge News

Covid-19: Getting staff back to work


**Update: the Government has created a new tool to help businesses in England return to work safely. The tool encourages businesses to carry out a risk assessment and helps to identify workplace adjustments. Click here to answer their questions and see their guidance. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has also produced some webinars on working safely during Coronavirus – you can watch them here.

The Government has published further guidance for employers to help them get their businesses back up and running and workplaces operating safely. The guidelines aim to help employers make workplaces as safe as possible and to give people confidence to go back to work during the Coronavirus pandemic.

They set out practical steps for businesses focused around 5 key points, which should be implemented as soon as it is practical:

  1. Work from home, if you can
  2. Carry out a Covid-19 risk assessment (N.B. if possible, employers should publish the results of their risk assessments on their website and they expect all businesses with over 50 employees to do so)
  3. Maintain 2m social distancing, where possible
  4. Where people can’t be 2m apart, manage transmission risk
  5. Reinforcing cleaning processes

Click here for details on the full guidance.

Specific guidance for people who work in offices and contact centres can be found here.

This guidance focuses on:

  1. Thinking about risk
  2. Who should go to work?
  3. Social distancing at work
  4. Managing your customers, visitors and contractors
  5. Cleaning the workplace
  6. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings
  7. Workforce management
  8. Inbound and outbound goods

The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has also created a useful guide to help employers plan next steps following a period of furlough or once lockdown measures start easing. They are urging businesses to ensure they can meet 3 key tests before bringing their people back to the workplace:

  • Is it essential? 
  • Is it sufficiently safe? 
  • Is it mutually agreed? 

You can download their full guide here.

Finally, they also provide a useful example of a workplace risk assessment.

Please remember we’re here to help. If you have any questions around getting your staff back to work or want to chat about anything related to the Coronavirus outbreak send us an email today on info@legaledge.co.uk

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