11 May 2020
Help Opening Your Business After Covid-19
The government has announced that it will be shortly publishing its roadmap out of the lockdown. Many business organisations are commenting on the discussion documents and have raised concerns about the lack of safety advice for businesses. While it’s possible that many employees will remain working at home, employers need at least to start thinking about how they will handle some of the challenges they are going face in re-opening their businesses.
Normal working patterns will clearly fundamentally change, and some employees have expressed a preference to continue working from home or are simply too scared to return to work when contracting COVID-19 is still a danger.
Employers need to consider carefully how they will protect their workforce from the risk of contracting the virus at work. During the current lockdown, the law permits employees to attend their workplace if their work cannot be undertaken remotely. However, as the lockdown lifts, an increasing number of employers will require their employees to return to work. A return to work, however, cannot be "business as usual" because employers have a duty under health and safety legislation to take the necessary steps to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of their employees and those who will be required to visit their business.
At the Compliance Standard Group, we believe the best way to get business back on track during the Covid -19 crisis is to carry out a suitable and sufficient Risk Assessment of all its people activities. Many businesses will be starting to plan their return and many things will need to be considered before allowing their employees to return safely.
Compliance Standards Group have produced three documents to assist business owners with their planning, and we are offering them for free:
Checklist for opening up your premises following lock down – this document details the key areas that business owners need to consider before re-opening their premises.
COVID-19 example risk assessment – a template document created using the guidance from WHO, NHS and the HSE.
COVID-19 risk assessment measures for different workplaces – this document details other measures that different businesses could consider added to their risk assessments.
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