10 steps to follow to ensure a safe return to the workplace for staff

3. Update your health and safety policy

This needs to be updated to set out the risks identified in the risk assessment and the measures that will be implemented to address them.

4. Study the current government guidance

As to what reasonable steps should be taken, follow government guidance closely as it will be hard to criticise an employer who does. Specific guidance is now available for managing the return of those who work in various environments, including offices, shops and logistics.

Some of the key points on a safe return from the guidance are:

• phase employees back into the workplace
• plan for the minimum number of people in the workplace (this may involve rotation of staff where possible)
• those who are advised to self-isolate should stay at home, whether they have Covid-19 symptoms or because other members of their household have symptoms
• protect workers who are clinically vulnerable (consider alternative roles where possible). Those who are shielding or are in the clinically vulnerable category should be provided with separate explanations as to what will be done to protect them, including working from home if necessary or carrying out tasks where social distancing can be followed.
• monitor the wellbeing of staff at home and in the office and, in so far as possible, provide support to aid their mental health and well-being
• treat everyone fairly in the workplace and be mindful of the different needs of different groups of workers or individuals
• display the Covid-19 secure notice in the workplace.
• increase frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning and clean the office before re-opening
• ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that employees can maintain two metre distance from others who are not in the same household
• where two metre social distancing is not possible, take all mitigating actions and consider whether it is possible implementing any of the following:
• split shifts into teams or shift groups
• staggering working hours
• limiting the time of activity
• performing tasks without facing others
• reducing number of people each person has contact with
• providing screens or barriers and one way systems
• avoid sharing equipment or workstations
• avoid in-person meetings
• keep a list of all visitors.
• PPE should be limited to only those settings where it is normally used. Face coverings are not mandatory and may only be marginally beneficial as a precautionary measure. This is an important point to keep under review as the guidance evolves.

5. Draft a Covid-19 testing, tracing, and disease management protocol

We recommend employers draft protocol for managing an outbreak of the disease in the office and their approach to testing and contact tracing.

The government has recently published guidance on testing. This is a fast-evolving area and so this will require regular updating. Everyone is also awaiting further news of the government’s proposed contact tracing smart phone app.

6. Keep up to date

Ensure that an appropriately skilled member of staff is charged with monitoring government, Public Health England and World Health Organisation guidance and ensuring that risk assessments, health and safety policies and Covid-19 protocols are regularly updated and that the measures being adopted to manage Covid-19 risks are compliant with the official guidance in force at the time.

7. Document everything!

This will enable you to demonstrate after the event, if needed, that all reasonable steps were taken based on best advice available at the time. Invest time and effort in producing the documents we recommend and in documenting the reasons for adopting a specific policy or measure by reference to the government guidance in force (or other reliable guidance) at the time.

Keep every version of your key documents and a record of the dates on which they were in force. If there are good reasons for departing from the guidance record these and the basis for your interpretation of aspects of the guidance.

8. Consult staff and health and safety representatives

Consult and discuss working arrangements with employees. Employers should not underestimate the importance of keeping an open dialogue with their employees about the steps they are taking to protect the workforce against the virus.

The Health & Safety Executive has produced a useful guide to help employers with these discussions.
Many employers are preparing questionnaires to send to staff asking about their individual circumstances as a starting point for consulting with them about their return to the office.

9. Train managers and staff

Make sure all workers understand Covid-19 health and safety protocols and procedures by providing clear and consistent guidance and training materials.

10. Focus on solutions to the difficult issues with other legal ramifications

For example:

• Staggered working hours. Employers need to think carefully about how they implement such measures as a change to an employee’s working hours may be in breach of their employment contract. Changes to working hours, depending on how they are implemented, may unfairly disadvantage certain groups, such as women, who often take on the role as carers for children or family members.
• Younger workers returning first. This is not a measure recommended in the government guidance, but many employers are considering whether younger employees should return first. Employers need to ensure they have considered individual circumstances before implementing a blanket age-based policy. A measure such as this is discriminatory treatment on the grounds of age, but it may be capable of objective justification by reference to medical data. However, we advise great caution here as the medical data is constantly changing. Absent government guidance on determining the age categories means employers will need to be careful where they draw the line in terms of the age groups and be clear as to the medical evidence on which they place reliance.