Back to work: What measures are companies taking to ensure staff safety?

The Government has issued new guidelines on how employers should make Britain's workplaces safe for staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The guidance comes as part of officials' efforts to ease Britons back to work amid the public health crisis after weeks of a near-total nationwide lockdown.

Since the lockdown conditions were first imposed on March 23 in response to the coronavirus crisis, most of the nation’s workers have become accustomed to working from home.

Those that can work from home have been advised by the Government to continue doing so for now.

However, companies that are eager for workers to return to offices and other settings will need to make a number of changes in order to ensure the health and safety of staff is not compromised.

Here are the new guidelines for various sectors:

Those that can work from home have been advised by the Government to continue doing so for now
PA

Offices

Employers have been told to devise one-way systems to minimise contact amongst their staff.

Arrival and departure times at work should be staggered to reduce crowding, and meetings should be held remotely.

Floor tape, screens and barriers ought to be used to keep people safe distances apart from one another.

Using hot desks should be avoided. Where that is not possible, such as in call centres, workstations should be sanitised between shifts.

Extra parking and facilities such as bike racks should be provided to encourage people not to use public transport for their commute.

Packaged meals should be provided where possible to avoid opening staff canteens.

Shops

The Government's guidance applies to stores which are currently open - such as supermarkets and pharmacies - as well as those which remain closed for the time being, such as clothes shops.

All of these businesses are advised to offer customers contactless payment methods and refunds, wherever possible, and limit the number of customers permitted inside a store at any one time.

Clothes shops are also advised to consider whether operating changing rooms is essential.

If such facilities are kept open, they must be cleaned after every use, while staff should possibly delay the return to the shop floor of clothes that have been tried on.

Construction and agriculture

Employers should consider staggering staff arrival times and shift patterns as well as providing more entry points to sites.

On building sites, jobs and equipment rotation should be reduced, with different "zones" established to keep groups of workers apart wherever possible.

All hand tools, controls, machinery and equipment must be sanitised after use.

Factories and warehouses

The Government guidelines say all surfaces which are regularly touched should be cleaned frequently, while screens and barriers should be erected where possible to keep workers at safe distances from one another.

Packaged meals should be provided to avoid opening staff canteens, where possible, and deliveries should be larger and less frequent to minimise contact with outsiders.

Pass readers should be deactivated in favour of manually showing a pass to security personnel at a safe distance, while touch based security pads should also be replaced with suitable alternatives.

Pubs, bars and restaurants

Food and drinks outlets are currently only allowed to offer takeaway or delivery options to customers.

For those operating such services, the Government guidelines say kitchen access must be restricted to as few people as possible, with only one person at a time permitted to enter walk-in fridges and pantries.

Employers should also minimise the amount of contact at food "handover" points, such as between staff and delivery drivers.

Customers should be encouraged to use contactless payment methods and place orders online, via apps or over the phone to reduce contact and queues.

Those collecting food or drinks should wait in their cars, where possible, and maintain two-metre spaces between one another when queueing in person.

Staff uniforms should be washed on site where possible and shared delivery vehicles ought to be sanitised between shifts.

Working in a vehicle

Bosses of lorry drivers, couriers and taxi drivers have been advised to use screens or barriers to separate people from each other if working in the same vehicle, where possible.

Vehicles should be cleaned regularly, and the number of people each person has contact with reduced by using fixed teams of only a few others.

Item drop-offs should be contactless and drivers should have access to toilet facilities during their journeys and at their destinations.

Working inside other people's homes

For people who work in or visit other people's homes, such as plumbers, electricians, cleaners and carers, a two-metre distance must be kept from other people, wherever possible.

If that isn't possible, the government guidelines suggest activities requiring the breach of two metres distancing should be carried out as quickly as possible.

It also suggests screens or barriers should be used to separate people, where appropriate, and that tasks should be carried out back-to-back or side-to-side, rather than face-to-face.

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