With backing from several national organisations, Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) has launched a Return to Work after the Covid-19 Lockdown toolkit designed to help employers and occupational health professionals get the nation back to work, safely.
Dr Will Ponsonby, President of SOM, said: “The directions and advice from the UK Government, the Health and Safety Executive, and Public Health England are necessary but not sufficient to support return to work. Our toolkit will help employers manage risk alongside their legal obligations, which will ensure workers feel confident to go back to work safely.”
The toolkit, free to download from the SOM website, is supported by the following organisations, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Business in the Community (BITC), and MIND, the mental health charity. The Bevan Commission supported a pre-launch of the toolkit on 13th May.
Peter Cheese, CEO CIPD, said: “We have to plan ahead for what is likely to be a staged return to work over what could be prolonged periods. Employers need to be clear about the principles of how we do this well.
“Central to those principles should be how we take care of our people, as many people will be concerned and anxious about being in workplaces or travelling to workplaces. The toolkit from SOM will help employers put into place systems that will allay those fears.”
Amanda Mackenzie, CEO BITC, said: “We want people coming back to work motivated to build back better. Companies must realise that COVID is not a great leveller.
“Some groups require more support than others. As responsible businesses, we must step up and meet this new challenge with our eyes open, which this toolkit will help people do.”
SOM understands that for most businesses, helping workers return safely and productively will be a considerable challenge. Its advice is for businesses to plan for any return, and any plans should have the agreement of managers, human resource professionals, the workers themselves and the unions that represent them.
The complexity of any return to work plan will reflect the size of the organisation and the SOM toolkit includes step-by-step advice on how to do this. It also includes advice for occupational health professionals advising businesses.
The toolkit is available to download from www.som.org.uk
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