Overview
Introduction
What is Coronavirus?
What can you do?
Your Duty of Care
Industry Guidance
Introduction
This page provides an overview of the current coronavirus situation. It explains what the virus is and gives advice on how employers should respond to the threat and support employees by being prepared, particularly looking after employees’ health and safety and developing flexible resourcing plans.
We’re working hard to keep this page updated to ensure it reflects Government advice as this evolves.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. The official name for this new disease, not previously seen in humans, is COVID-19. It was first identified in Wuhan City, in Hubei province, China.
COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu, where there is close contact between people. If someone with the virus coughs or exhales and is within a metre of someone else, the other person could catch it by breathing in droplets of infected fluid. People can also catch it by touching contaminated surfaces or objects.
Most people infected with the virus have mild symptoms and recover, but some experience more serious illness and may need hospital care. People over 40 seem to be more vulnerable, as are those with weakened immune systems or an underlying health condition such as diabetes, cancer and lung disease.
The incubation period of COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days. Common signs of infection include a fever, a cough and difficulty in breathing.
In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern. As it’s spreading around the world, and spreading quickly, on 11 March the WHO categorised it as a ‘pandemic’ which, in WHO terms, is ‘the worldwide spread of a disease’.
On 12 March 2020 the Government announced that the UK is moving from the ‘contain’ into the ‘delay’ stage of the outbreak, and the risk to the public has now been raised from moderate to high by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
What can you do?
Use the basic but effective ways to help prevent the infection’s spread, including:
- Making sure your workplace is clean and hygienic.
- Promoting regular and thorough hand-washing by everyone.
- Providing all employees with an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Encouraging people to use and bin tissues.
On 7 April 2020, the Government issued sector guidance with tailored advice on how employers should implement social distancing measures for different workplace scenarios.
Your Duty of Care
Employees’ health, safety and well-being during this pandemic should be paramount. Employers have a statutory duty of care for people’s health and safety, and to provide a safe place to work, but there’s also a strong moral responsibility to ensure that employees feel safe and secure in their employment. Employers need to be proactive to protect their people and minimise the risk of the virus spreading. The Government has now advised that anyone who is able to should work from home. Employers’ duty of care for the health and safety of their employees includes anyone who is working remotely.
Many people will be concerned about the risk of infection and will need reassurance. Communicate clearly to employees that they need to take basic hygiene precautions, such as effective hand-washing, and avoid all non-essential travel and social contact to help reduce the spread of the virus. Follow official public health and medical advice closely and advise them on what to do if they think they may have caught the virus, or are at risk of contracting it. If you’ve shifted your workforce to home working, make sure you keep in touch with people and look out for their well-being as it can be an isolating experience. Encourage managers to have one-to-ones with people and set up virtual team meetings.
Industry Guidance
The government, in consultation with industry, has produced guidance to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible.
These 8 guides cover a range of different types of work. Many businesses operate more than one type of workplace, such as an office, factory and fleet of vehicles. You may need to use more than one of these guides as you think through what you need to do to keep people safe.
Further Information
Open for Business
supporting our clients
Despite the ongoing difficulties of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic we at Rawlings continue to provide our wide range of support services to assist and support you with your safety and training needs, which includes;
- Safety retained services
- CDM support services and the principal designer role
- Health and Safety Consultancy Support Services, including on-site inspections, audits
- Training (both classroom style and remote/Zoom etc)
- Fire safety support, fire risk assessments etc
The health and well being of our staff, their families and that of our clients is paramount and you can be assured that we will continue to provide our services in a Covid secure way.
In accordance with government guidelines some staff will be working from home but are fully functioning and contactable on the usual head office number, mobile number, and emails.
Steve Rawlings 07899 751 685 steve@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Kevin Colleran 07876 634 618 kevin@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
John Caulfield 07881 721 864 john@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Stuart Allen 07825 506 174 stuart@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Anthony Walker 07939 298 487 anthony@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Pete Walsh 07775 420 125 pete@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Alex Thorpe 07815 492 490 alex@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Jamie Gormley 07717 837 856 jamie@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Adam Peers 07762 297 089 adam@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Phil Hughes 07835 613 816 phil@rawlingsrcs.co.uk
Support packs available
To assist contractors and principal contractors with ensuring their sites and work activities are Covid secure we have created a suite of documents, which include the following;
- PC Site Operating Procedures Document
- Covid 19 site checklist plan
- Covid 19 risk assessments
- Re-induction form
- Tool Box Talk briefing and record
- CPA Guidelines for Plant Operations
- RPE/PPE Guidance
- Covid 19 Close Working Permit
- CITB Weekly Site Operating Procedures Checklist
- Cleaning Guide
- Working safely during COVID-19 in and other outdoor work
Click here to download our pack Contractors and Principal Contractors Pack.
Click here to download our General Workplace Pack