Creating a Covid-secure workplace
Due to the latest rise in coronavirus cases, the governments latest advice is for people who need to work in the office, should do. However, all staff that can work from home should do so all well. For people that need to be in the office, a Covid-secure workplace must be attainable. We will go onto explain the practices you need to take to ensure everyone stays safe.
"We are stressing that if it is safe to work in your workplace, if you are in a Covid-secure workplace, then you should be there if your job requires it. But, if you can work from home you should.”
Michael Gove - Cabinet Office Minister
Social Distancing
If your office is a work from a desk environment, the government advise that people should keep at least a 2-metre distance. However, this may not be possible for more manual jobs where people will need to interact more. The rules on this are that people should keep at least a 1-metre distance with precautionary measures in place. These measures can be anything from people wearing a protective shield to a mask covering your nose and mouth.
Communication with staff about the Covid-secure workplace
The members of staff that are changing the workplace to make it more Covid-secure should brief others about their changes. The brief should be explained to staff clearly and concisely, so they understand the practices they are undertaking.
Hand Hygiene
According to the Centre for Disease Control, "eighty per cent of common infections are spread by hands". That's why keeping good hand hygiene across the workplace is crucial to fending off diseases.
Washing your hands for 20 seconds is the recommended way of removing germs and unwanted bacteria. However, a fair few people would admit that they don't wash their hands for long enough or in the proper way.
A solution to this issue is installing multiple hand sanitising stations in the office. The benefit of hand sanitisers is that they are quick to apply correctly and serve the purpose of eliminating germs on your hands.
To make sure employees have regular access to hand sanitiser, we recommend placing automatic hand sanitiser dispensers around the office at a height where it's easy for them to use. We'd also suggest getting a hand sanitising stand with a drip tray to prevent the antibacterial gel dripping on the floor and causing an accident.
We are living in a very uncertain time at the moment and there's no telling to when we are going to see things go back to how they were. However, with good planning, we can put the necessary measures in place to stop and control the spread of the virus.
