Health and safety: Making a safe return to work

The research demonstrates that there is now more onus than ever on employers, landlords and building operators to take steps to create safe workplaces. But with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) making COVID-secure conditions a legal requirement in offices, businesses are becoming more nervous about making themselves liable for any COVID-related damages.

Unify by Bruntwood recently ran a poll asking what concerned business owners the most about reopening their offices. The majority of answers were that businesses simply want to keep their teams safe from the threat of Coronavirus, but don’t know where to begin. 

Conducting risk assessments
In terms of mitigating against the risks of Coronavirus, as a starting point businesses should be conducting a risk assessment to:

• Identify what activity might cause transmission of the coronavirus
• Identify who within your space could be at risk
• Identify how likely it is that someone could be exposed to coronavirus
• Outline what else can be done to protect people if it isn’t possible to control the above risks. 

There are several basic steps you can take to get ahead on these four criteria. For example:

• Implement social distancing signage in high traffic areas
• Provide supplementary hand sanitiser stations at building entry points
• Introduce one-way systems wherever possible in your building
• Reduce lift capacity and advise people to use the stairs – with a one way system in place
• Hire an expert cleaning team to increase cleaning of touchpoints throughout the day
• Ensure team members wear masks or visors and sit behind screens where possible.

To ensure you’re taking all the precautions necessary, conduct a ‘walk through’ of your space, and note down any areas that might be a cause for concern. At the end of this process, you’ll have identified: 

• Bottlenecks in your offices
• Significant touch points that need managing i.e tea points, microwaves, door handles etc
• Areas where social distancing needs implementing, such as kitchens/break areas etc
• Whether it’s safe for people to hot desk, or if fixed desks will offer increased protection
• Any communal areas where social distancing isn’t an option. 

Cleaning schedules
Once your risk assessment is underway, consider your next steps. Is your cleaning schedule sufficient to ensure team members are taken care of? How and where will you install signage around your building to highlight the steps its users must take to protect others? How else will you communicate with your team about your new safety measures? What tools will you introduce to ensure colleagues can report their concerns? How will visitors be encouraged to adopt your rules during the time they spend with you?

HSE spot checks
As you return to your workplace, remember that the HSE is conducting unannounced spot checks on businesses to ensure they are keeping their workplaces safe, and you’ll need to update your new risk assessment over time to reflect any further changes in legislation or guidance that might impact you.

Free return to the workplace consultations
Unify wants to help businesses that are looking for support to get back up and running. The team is on hand to provide expert advice on the things that should be considered ahead of welcoming teams back. This includes how to conduct a thorough risk assessment; creating socially distanced office layouts; effective cleaning and hygiene routines; the importance of ventilation and air conditioning; and how to communicate effectively with staff. 

For more information visit www.unifysolutions.co.uk