Government unveils ‘Covid-secure’ plans for offices including staggered shifts and limited numbers
EMPLOYERS will have to limit the number of workers and stagger shift patterns as part of new 'Covid-secure' guidelines.
The Government has unveiled its plans to get people back to work and Britain moving again.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a speech to the nation about lifting restrictions and followed up with a 50-page plan today.
A document on returning to different sorts of workplaces was also published, outlining what employers need to do.
Everyone who cannot work from home should travel to their office if it is open - but employers must follow new “Covid-19 secure” steps to keep infections low.
These include:
- increasing the frequency of hand washing and cleaning
- keeping people at work for as short a time as possible
- using screens or barriers to separate people from each other
- using back-to-back or side-to-side working rather than face-to-face whenever possible
- reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ - so each person works with only a few others
- limiting meetings
The guidance said that employers have a legal responsibility to keep their workers safe - including minimising their risk of catching coronavirus.
"No one is obliged to work in an unsafe work environment," it said.
The Government said that “for the foreseeable future”, workers should keep working from home wherever possible in order to minimise the number of people they come into contact with.
But if they have to go into an office, employers must do things to help keep workers apart.
Mr Johnson said on Monday: "We are going to insist that businesses across this country look after their workers, are Covid secure, Covid compliant.
"The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be enforcing it and we will be having spot inspections to make sure employees are keeping their employees safe.
"It is up to workers to raise it with their employers and the HSE too."
Measures bosses could take include limiting the number of people in the office at any time by changing shift patterns and rotas so people work in smaller teams.
Businesses will also be expected to help stop people from gathering together, staggering entry and exit where possible.
They could also use floor markings so people only move in one direction.
There are also concerns that a mass return to work could mean busier public transport, so employers are being encouraged to stagger work hours so people are not all coming in at once.
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The Government's guidance published on Monday also contained lots of generic advice to help people stay safe outside their homes, such as keeping two metres away from people at all times and washing hands regularly.
It also now suggests wearing a mask in public places where social distancing is harder.
And people should consider washing their clothes more often if they are working with people outside their household as there is some evidence that the virus can stay on fabrics for a few days, it said.
There are also likely to be pilot reopenings of pubs, cinemas and hairdressers in order to test the social distancing guidelines.
Pubs, hairdressers and cinemas have to pass five tests before they can reopen.
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Here are the Covid-secure rules non-essential shops will have to follow before reopening.
The businesses including food prep and construction that can go back to work.
Businesses that must remain closed
WHILE the Government is encouraging some to return to work, it says the following businesses and venues are required by law to stay closed to the public:
- Restaurants and cafes, other than for takeaway
- Pubs, cinemas, theatres and nightclubs
- Clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets not selling food
- Libraries, community centres, and youth centres
- Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, gyms, arcades and soft play facilities - although outdoor sports facilities, such as tennis and basketball courts, golf courses and bowling greens, will be allowed to reopen from May 13
- Some communal places within parks, such as playgrounds and outdoor gyms
- Places of worship (except for funerals)
- Hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, caravan parks, and boarding houses for commercial/leisure use, excluding use by those who live in them permanently, those who are unable to return home and critical workers where they need to for work
Food retailers, food markets, and hardware stores can remain open, while garden centres and certain other retailers can reopen from May 13.