In preparation for the tiered system which will come into play this week, the Government has updated its guidance on working safely during the pandemic. A total of 14 different guides have been published relating to various sectors such as retail, heritage, office work etc.
Click here to read the guidance.
A brief overview of the guidance:
- In tiers 1 and 2, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals are advised to work from home where possible but can still attend work if they cannot work from home.
- In tier 3, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals are strongly advised to work from home but may still attend the workplace if they cannot work from home.
- Most of the sector guidance includes a new “priority action” for employers to “consider the mental health and wellbeing aspects of COVID-19 for yourself and others.”
- The requirement to increase ventilation where possible and running ventilation systems at all times has been updated for winter for almost all sectors.
- The sections on face coverings have been simplified in most of the sector guidance, referring to the following link for more detail.
- For retail settings, employers are no longer required to ensure that all staff wear face coverings. However, they should support their workers who choose to wear a face covering.
