We are half way through our second lockdown of 2020 and like everyone we are hoping that businesses across the country will be in a position to reopen for the Christmas period. Therefore, Health and Safety in the workplace is paramount for any business owner, ensuring that their premises/work stations are up to the required Health & Safety standards.

What measures should your workplace be taking?

Prior to anyone returning to employment a Covid safety induction is required to be carried out. These can be bespoke to a specific industry or company, i.e. Construction Industry Federation or a generic one that is available for all companies on the Health and Safety Authority(HSA) website (click here) 

The most fundamental point to the Covid induction is to educate workers about Covid-19 and how to prevent spreading to workers and to protect themselves, their families, and the wider community. It provides awareness about the signs and symptoms of Covid-19 and to educate staff on the safety protocols for returning to work.

The advice from the HSE is that social distancing is to constantly be observed. Two metres social distancing has truly become the new norm for the people of Ireland. In the workplace it is recognised that 2 metre distancing cannot always be strictly observed; there are recommendations that employers should have in place, a summary of those recommendations is below:

• Installation of physical barriers, ie. plexiglass screens between workers
• Try maintaining a reduced distance of 1 metre where possible 
• Have hand wash stations stocked with sanitiser and wipes so that regular hand hygiene can be carried out
• Make face masks available to staff

The HSA have advised that where possible meetings should continue to be held remotely, however should face to face be required it is advisable to keep the number of attendees and the length of the meeting to a minimum and ensure distancing is maintained throughout.

Everyone can play their part in contact tracing, a close contact would be considered someone who spent more than 15 minutes face to face with a person who has contracted the coronavirus or someone who has spent two hours or greater with someone who has the coronavirus. It is crucial that employers log any instances of close contacts within the workplace, as health officials may request logs to carry out contact tracing. Details such as date, name of those involved and contact duration should be kept. These details are required to be kept on file for 28 days.

Measures that we have taken in Turas Nua

While our offices remain closed to the general public, some of our staff did return to their offices where possible for a brief period of time during level 2 restrictions. In order for this to happen, risk assessments were carried out for each office, safety supplies were provided and an internal return to work induction was required to be carried out before any staff could return to their building. A health and safety questionnaire was also completed by all staff and this would identify if they had any underlying health conditions that would preclude them from returning to the office.

Since Covid-19 has landed on these shores Health & Safety in the workplace has become the foremost focus for both employers and staff alike. There has been very few, if any industries that have not been impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, which has seen companies and employees having to adopt a new normal in how they approach their work. But ensuring you have correct measures in place for you, your staff and your customers will help stop the spread and hopefully help us get back to some form of normality. 

If you are looking to hire new staff for when you reopen you can contact us here and we can quickly help you recruit your new candidate.