Guidance launched to help get Brits ENGLAND safely back to work
The UK Government has published guidance for employers in England to help them get their businesses back up and running and workplaces operating safely – but the TUC says the plans won’t make workplaces safe.
For the timebeing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are sticking to their ‘stay at home’ message.
- Practical guidelines published to make workplaces as safe as possible and give people confidence to go back to work during coronavirus pandemic
- documents developed in consultation with approximately 250 businesses, unions, industry leaders as well as devolved administrations
- up to an extra £14 million made available for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment
- guidance provides employers with a downloadable notice businesses should display to show people they have followed the guidance
New ‘COVID-19 secure’ guidelines are available to 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, so we can protect jobs, restore people’s livelihoods and fund the country’s vital public services.
The government has consulted approximately 250 stakeholders in preparing the guidance. It has been developed with input from firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), to develop best practice on the safest ways of working across the economy, providing people with the confidence they need to return to work.
The new guidance covers 8 workplace settings which are allowed to be open, from outdoor environments and construction sites to factories and takeaways. This sets out practical steps for businesses focused on 5 key points, which should be implemented as soon as it is practical:
1. Work from home, if you can
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, our message is clear: you should go to work. Staff should 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 should publish the results of their risk assessments on their website and we expect all businesses with over 50 employees to do so.
3. Maintain 2 metres social distancing, wherever possible
Employers should re-design workspaces to maintain 2 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 2 metres apart, manage transmission risk
Employers should 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 should be cleaned more frequently, paying close attention to high-contact objects like door handles and keyboards. Employers should provide handwashing facilities or hand sanitisers at entry and exit points.
A downloadable notice is included in the documents, which employers should display in their workplaces to show their employees, customers and other visitors to their workplace, that they have followed this guidance.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “This guidance provides a framework to get the UK back to work in a way that is safe for everyone.
“These are practical steps to enable employers to identify risks that COVID-19 creates and to take pragmatic measures to mitigate them.
“And as we are able to reopen new sectors of the economy, we will continue our collaborative approach working with a wide range of stakeholders, to provide guidance for additional workplaces.”
Sarah Albon, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, said: “The BEIS guidance issued today sets out practical steps employers can take to enable staff to continue and return to work.
“We have worked with BEIS to ensure businesses have access to the information they need to put in place measures to help them work safely. This will assist employers in carrying out risk assessments and putting practical measures in place.
“At the heart of the return to work is controlling the risk posed by the virus. Ensuring safe working practices are in place will help deliver a safe return to work and support businesses across the country.”
Craig Beaumont, Director of External Affairs and Advocacy at the Federation of Small Businesses commented: “FSB has engaged through this process with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and we appreciate that our points have been taken on board for the UK small business community.
“Today’s guidance is practical, workable and proportionate for small businesses.
“It will be a long journey but this guidance will provide the basis for small employers to have the positive conversations needed with their staff. This is the first step to getting the economy back on its feet.”
Carolyn Fairbairn, Director-General of the CBI, commented: “Safety is at the heart of business thinking. Unless people feel safe, employees won’t return, customers will stay away and the restart will falter, harming livelihoods and public services.
“This guidance will help. It gives firms a clearer picture of how to reopen safely and gradually.
“The guidance builds on the good proactive plans many firms have developed during lockdown. Excellent employee engagement, fast workplace innovation and transparency have helped many companies support livelihoods. It’s right to build on this.
“The UK faces months of change and challenge. These guidelines will need to continue to evolve based on insight from the ground.
“And employers, employee representatives and relevant enforcement agencies must work together, supporting these plans to build public trust and get our economy back on its feet.”
Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors. commented: “This guidance is an important first step. It won’t provide every answer, no guidance can, but directors can use it to inform their risk assessments for operating in this pandemic.
“Ultimately, the decision lies with a company’s directors, and they need to feel comfortable they can operate safely. Decisions on re-opening will not be taken lightly. Business leaders want to stand on their own two feet, but most can’t operate at anything like normal capacity at the moment, and making adjustments to protect staff and customers will be a big challenge for many workplaces.
“We hope and expect the guidance to evolve over time, but this is a place for employers to start on the long path to getting the economy going again.”
The guidance applies to businesses currently open. This also includes guidance for shops which we believe 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 UK government will also 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.
As part of Monday’s announcement, the government has made available up to an extra £14 million for the HSE, equivalent to an increase of 10% of their budget, for extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment if needed.
REMEMBER – this guidance is for ENGLAND ONLY
On Sunday night, 10 May 2020, the prime minister encouraged workers to start returning to work.
Although he meant workers who can’t work from home in industries that haven’t been closed, his words took unions and employers by surprise.
And they created real confusion and anxiety overnight, as workers wondered if they had to report for work in the morning.
Unions want to support a safe return to work. That’s how we will get on with rebuilding Britain.
We don’t take a view on the speed of the return to work – we’re not scientists. What we are expert in is how to keep working people safe at work.
The UK needs a safe and managed return to normal working. That means consulting properly with unions and employers on guidance, getting it out to firms, giving them time to implement it, making sure the right PPE is available, ensuring that our transport systems and schools are safe, and then announcing dates when people could safely return to work.
This process must be gradual, and it must be safe – but that’s not what has happened.
Why workplace safety matters
This stuff really matters, because the impact of this government’s failures on workplace safety has already been horrific.
According to TUC analysis of new figures released by the ONS this week, a male security worker is four times more likely to die of Covid-19 than the male average. A female hairdresser is over three times as likely to die than the female average.
The government has to take a tough new approach to keeping people safe at work to protect as many lives as possible.
Late last month, the business department consulted unions and employers on detailed back-to-work guidelines.
The first draft was poor – it misrepresented the existing law, left out key protections for vulnerable groups, and there was a blank space where the section on PPE should have been.
We demanded immediate and substantial changes to the guidance – and were clear that we could not support them as they stood. The government went quiet.
Fast forward to yesterday. After 24 hours of chaos and concern over the PM’s premature announcement and news that low-paid workers were disproportionately dying from coronavirus, the business department finally published their detailed guidelines.
And though they aren’t everything unions wanted, they are a step in the right direction.
Union pressure worked.
So what changed?
We said every employer should publish their risk assessment – and the government will encourage employers to do this.
We demanded more money for the Health and Safety Executive – and £14m has been allocated.
We raised real concerns about the language and tone of the guidance – and are glad to see it is now tougher, reminding employers of their responsibilities and not just asking them to “consider” taking action.
Social distancing has been reinstated as the key risk control measure, with only very few exceptions. And vulnerable workers will get the extra protection they need.
But the new detailed guidance still falls short. Covid-19 will pose a risk for months to come, so it’s vital that employers manage safe working properly.
Unions will keep up the pressure on government to improve the rules as more and more people go back to work.
What still needs to change?
First, there must be a legal requirement for employers to publish their risk assessment.
Everyone needs to be able to see what a firm is doing to keep their workers – and their customers and the wider community – safe. This works well for gender pay gap reporting, and it’s a great resource for proactive enforcement.
We need the government to get to grips with the PPE crisis. The priority is workers in health and social care but other workers may need forms of PPE too, depending on the risk assessment in their workplaces.
Getting the right rules is only half the battle
Now it’s for employers to comply with the new, transparent, risk assessment regime. They need to consult their unions and workforces and get union agreement to the actions they are taking to keep workers safe.
The UK’s 100,000 health and safety reps – experts in workplace hazards – are ready to make sure every employer complies, including providing advice and guidance in non-unionised workplaces.
And when employers get it wrong, we need strong and swift enforcement
The Health and Safety Executive got £14m extra funding yesterday. Unions want to make sure it’s used to proactively get out to the riskiest workplaces and crack down on rogue employers.
Both inspections and prosecutions have fallen by more than 80 per cent since 2001. The HSE must have the capacity to inspect and challenge every employer that breaks the rules, and prosecute those who neglect worker safety.
And it must be matched by local authority enforcement teams getting out to make sure shops and warehouses are safe.
Questions remain
We still have big questions about how we manage public transport safely – for passengers and transport workers.
The government’s rushed plans to reopen schools are deeply worrying for staff and parents alike. And we know that without childcare, going back to workplaces will be impossible for many.
Working people are rightly worried about how to protect themselves and their loved ones. We need a gradual, safe return to workplaces. That’s how to build public confidence – and get the economy moving again.
There are 8 workplace guidance documents now available under Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance.
REMEMBER – this guidance is for ENGLAND ONLY
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