End of UK Lockdown: Employees Rejoice While Employers Wonder, ‘What Does Workplace Safety now look like?’
On the 22nd of February 2021, the UK Government published its original "Roadmap out of Lockdown" for England, which was initially due to see a "cautious but irreversible" lifting of all legal limits on social contact by the 21st of June 2021. England's Roadmap out of lockdown was divided into four key steps, each step triggered various restrictions being eased subject to the prevailing data on COVID-19 available at the time.
As of the 19th of July 2021, the UK Government has updated its guidance on workplace safety as England moved to step 4 of its roadmap which resulted in the lifting of most covid-19 restrictions. The previous 14 guides to working safely previously distributed have now been replaced by six new sector specific guidelines. Guidance on social distancing, working from home and reduced occupancy has now been dropped and replaced with six priority actions:
- Risk Assessment: There is still a requirement to complete a COVID-19 health and safety risk assessment and to keep this updated. Given that a significant amount of time has elapsed since many businesses and employers first implemented a COVID-19 specific risk assessment, existing risk assessments may need a substantial update.
- Adequate Ventilation: It is still being emphasised that providing adequate ventilation is key to limiting the spread of the virus. This can either be natural ventilation or mechanical, such as fans and ducts or a combination of both.
- Cleaning: Cleaning more frequently still remains a priority, therefore employers should continue to ask members of staff and members of the public to use hand sanitiser to clean their hands regularly.
- Face Coverings: While legal requirements around face coverings have been removed, it is still expected that face coverings will be worn in crowded and enclosed spaces and that businesses should consider the use of face coverings, particularly in indoor areas where they may not come into contact with people they do not normally meet.
- Self-Isolation: Employers and businesses should still turn away people with COVID-19 symptoms and respect requirements to self-isolate.
- Communication: Communicating requirements and training also remain important as does making sure that risk mitigation measures relating to workers who are particularly vulnerable are maintained.
Statements relating to employees working from home is notably absent from the above six priority actions. The government sate employers should continue to support employees working from home where possible however the government expects and recommends a gradual return to the workplace over the coming months.
Equally, references to 2 metres of social distancing have been removed from the previous guidance however it is emphasised that COVID-19 can still be spread through social contact and that reviewing layouts, using screens or barriers or encouraging back-to-back or side-to-side working will remain helpful from a risk mitigation perspective.
Overall, there is a marked change in emphasis compared to the previous guidance. References to making the workplace covid-19-secure have been removed. The reference to "stop the spread" has changed to "reduce the risk", "minimising risk" has changed to "reducing risk", "make your business safe" has changed to "make your business safer", and "you must consider the recommendations" has changed to "you should consider the recommendations".
So what should businesses and employers do next?
Given the high prevalence of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the UK currently many offices are seeing a reduced number of employees wishing to return to the workplace. This has meant that many office based employers have chosen not to significantly alter their current working from home practices in the short-term. With the possibility of additional restrictions being reimposed later this summer or in the autumn, businesses and employers should prepare for the possibility of needing to reimpose some of the restrictions they may have had in place previously.
For now, businesses and employers should start to update their COVID-19 risk assessment to help them gain a better understanding as to what they need to do as part of Step 4 of the Roadmap and continue to keep informed of updated guidance from the Government and review their Covid Secure policy to ensure it reflects the new guidance. - View a sample of the Covid-19 Secure Policy here.
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