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The worldwide pandemic isn’t going to disappear anytime soon and more rules and regulations are introduce. Daily for keeping the general public and your staff safe while in the workplace. While some workplaces are rightly continuing their work from home process with either reduced days in the office. Others are enforcing their staff to be present or employ roles that cannot fulfil their responsibilities from home.
Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their staff. if they are making them come into the workplace and staff have the right to report their workplace. To ensure your workplace is as safe as can be for your hard-working staff. Ensure to follow the recommended safety guidelines, including;
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments make it easy to identify points of failure for safety in your business .It can help you find the greatest risks and how much effort is require to reduce or prevent the risk. Ideally, you should be talking to your staff as they are best place to understand the risks.
it’s also important to listen to their concerns. There is no point in taking time out of your staff’s day to discuss risk assessment and managing risks .if you are just going to disregard their concerns and continue as you think is correct. Not only will you break staff trust, but you will also impact productivity and will encourage employee turnover.
Managing Risks
Every aspect of your business needs to be assess for safety including entering and exiting the premises. The use of spaces in the property, meetings, movement around the building and common areas.
Awareness
This includes adding signage to remind staff about keeping to social distancing guidelines.
Some businesses are investing in long-term and durable commercial vinyl flooring that can offer a better surface for affixing temporary social distance sticker notices and queuing placements.
Cleanliness
Anti-bacterial cleaner for hands should be post at every entry point including bathrooms, kitchen and break out spaces with notices reminding those to regularly clean their hands.
While staff can be encourage to bring their own hand sanitiser. it is the legal responsibility of the employer to provide hand-washing stations or anti-bacterial dispensers.
Reduce Congestion
Where necessary, introduce staggered start times for staff to prevent a congested entry or exit .Implement a one-way system, where possible and necessary, to reduce contact between members of staff or visitors to the property. You will also need to take temperatures as staff arrive .Also encouraging staggered arrival times can help reduce waiting around or crowding in enclosed spaces.
Reduce Exposure
Staff should be given their own individual workstation. No need to share equipment and if ample social distancing cannot be enforce. Staff should be position back to back or side to side, rather than face to face. Implement screens between employee workstations to reduce the chance of germ spread through the air.
Weighing Up the Risks
If your staff worked successfully at home during the lockdown. it’s time to sit down and consider whether the additional admin and awareness throughout the day are going to be worth it.
Particularly when you factor in the effect on the emotional and mental health of your team How this is going to affect their opinion of the business
Talk to your staff, listen to their concerns and help them to feel safe.
Not only is it a legal responsibility but it should be a moral one too. Your staff are the lifeblood of your business. They ensure your customers are seen to and given quality service and they fulfil the deliverables of your services.
Comprehensive COVID safety guides for your specific industry are available here .if you require further information or advice on ensuring the safety of your staff.