Feature: Health in the Workplace


Creating a safe work environment


While many continue to work from home during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, this isn’t possible for every workforce. As a result, employers have had to implement steps to make the workplace Covid-19 secure. Chamber Connect explores some of the measures you should take.


your employees. This requires you to implement and maintain a safe system of work and ensure that your employees follow it. Employers will need to carry out


A


Covid-19 risk assessments to establish what guidelines need to be put in place, and the results from the assessment should be shared with all employees. Businesses with over 50 employees must publish the results of the risk assessment on their website – but it’s a good idea for smaller firms to do the same as staff, clients and customers will appreciate the transparency. Before you re-open workplace,


s an employer, it is your statutory duty to ensure the health and safety at work of


maintained, you should look to manage the transmission risk. This can be managed by erecting physical barriers between individual workspaces in shared spaces and minimising the amount of contact different teams can have together. Cleaning – workspaces should be


‘It is your


statutory duty to ensure the


health and safety at work of your employees’


your risk assessment must factor for the following: Safe distancing – all workspaces


should be re-designed to maintain a two-metre distance between all staff wherever possible. Changing layouts and creating one-way walkways/staircases can help achieve this. Transmission risk – where the two-metre distance can’t be


58 CHAMBERconnect Autumn 2020


cleaned more frequently. Pay close attention to high contact objects, such as door handles, taps and kitchen equipment. Hand sanitising stations should be set up at all entry points, and alternatives to touch- based security devices, such as key pads or fingerprint scanners, should be provided. It is also prudent to check air


conditioning and


ventilation systems. Support for


vulnerable workers – You must do everything that is


‘reasonably practical’ to protect them in the workplace; this can include limiting their duties to tasks where strict social distancing guidelines can be followed. Include them in conversations about what can be done to help protect their health, and regularly review your risk assessment as Government advice on how to deal with the pandemic changes.


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