Covid19 - Get your Business Return to Work Ready Checklist

After initial lock down and business survival, the next big issue to face businesses is the return to work in a post-Covid19 environment.

Extensive discussions with our clients in engineering and manufacturing has created the following checklist with some great tips:

• Have good communication with employees to reach an agreement that suits the needs of the business and employees personal circumstances.
• Identify which roles can still work from home and which need to be onsite.
• Take the personal situation of individual employees into account, consider such things as; are they shielding for personal health reasons? do they have vulnerable family members? Is their home a safe environment (domestic abuse has risen dramitcally), What are their childcare arrangements?
• Have you got enough space to spread out your employee work stations?
• Can you introduce barriers between work stations?
• Remove all unnecessary touch points.
• Stagger start and finish times or shifts to reduce traffic and contact.
• Implement one way walking systems with 2 metre markers.
• Increase access and exit points.
• Encourage hand washing and sanitation upon entry and exit to premises.
• Find alternatives to touch screens and key pads frequently used by multiple employees.
• Add additional hand sanitisation points.
• Support alternative transportation to reduce reliance on public transport (more car parking, bike racks, flexitime to allow walk to work).
• Stagger tea breaks and reduce use of kitchens and canteens with pre packed food.
• Reverse into parking spaces to increase distancing in car parks.
• Allow more time for employee movement to enable distancing.
• Issue additional PPE and facemasks.
• Provide employees with thermometers to check their temperature each day at home.
• Have a Cleaning 'SWAT' team routinely cleaning any common areas and regular touch points.
• Place regular signs reminding employees of their distancing obligation.
• Produce letters, emails, intranet and social media group posts, or even videos showcasing your changes to reassure employees of the measures being taken for their safety.
• Provide onsite laundry or sealed bags for clothing.
• Provide appropriate storage for clothes, coats etc.
• Provide appropriate changing areas and ensure they are adequately distanced.
• Discourage any unnecessary movement on site.
• Regulate use of stairways, corridors and lifts.
• Avoid employees working face to face, try and have all facing in the same direction.
• If the workplace is safe according to all government guidelines then there should be no reason for employees not to return to work.
• If an employee is uncomfortable you should seek to understand and address this common issue. It is ultimately a potential disciplinary issue without good reason, but we suggest you aim to reach compromise.
• Identify motivators for concern. Businesses with nervous employees need to address the underlying issue, such as working environment or could be uncomfortable using public transport.
• Try and live your business values.
• If you have done everything required to ensure a ‘Covid19’ safe working environment continuously over-communicate this to reassure your employees and continuously listen to the response of your employees.