What can employers do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work?
Thursday 22nd July 2021
The spread of the new delta variant has seen a large increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. People are socialising more regularly and attending work in person more often since the relaxation of restrictions, and some age groups are yet to receive both vaccines. This has led to an increase in the amount of staff needing to self-isolate which can be an issue for employers, especially where they do not have the facilities for their staff to work from home.
In order to help minimise the amount of employees needing to self-isolate due to the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, employers are reminded that it’s sensible to take the following precautions:
- Ask employees to take their temperature on arrival to work (temperatures should be below 37.8ᵒC).
- Remind employees of the main Covid-19 symptoms and that they must stay at home and inform HR if they are suffering from any of them.
- Advise employees that the new delta variant brings more cold-like symptoms, therefore, if suffering from any symptoms of a common cold, they should not attend the office and should take a test.
- Remind employees to continue to social distance within the workplace.
- Encourage employees to take lateral flow tests at least twice a week to reduce asymptomatic cases.
- Remind employees to follow all hygiene guidance including frequent hand washing. Hand gel should be provided as well as wipes to clean down any surfaces.
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Now that we are looking to return to some sense of normality, it is important that you keep your Covid-19 policies up to date to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible. With the potential lifting of legal restrictions on 19 July, you should still take practical steps to protect your workforce even if the government no longer mandates it beyond this date. Not only will this help to reduce employee absences, but it will help to protect you against health and safety-related claims. Should you require any further advice on Covid policies and workplace health and safety, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team.
If you would like to discuss this further, then please contact one of our employment experts below. To view the full July Employment Law Update, click here:
