For the hospitality and retail sector, in particular, this is a welcome opportunity to resume trading – but it could also mean putting employees at risk. With community transmission of COVID-19 still a possibility, here are some of the key factors to consider in keeping employees and customers safe.
Most businesses that have remained operational during the pandemic have implemented increased hygiene measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Before reopening, you should have a similar plan in place for preventing infection and ensure control policies and procedures are clearly communicated to all employees. This could include:
Where possible, scale back the number of rostered-on employees to help minimise close contact, or alter starting and finishing times to reduce the number of employees working at any one time. You could also consider:
Also, keep in mind that some employees might not need to be on site. Administrative employees and other people who can do their jobs from home may be better off continuing to work remotely until we have a better understanding of post-lockdown transmission rates.
Although the coronavirus restrictions are gradually being lifted, the government has directed people to continue social distancing – and businesses are no exception. Take precautions to ensure employees and customers remain at least 1.5m apart, such as:
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To make sure you’re minimising the risk of COVID-19, consider:
1. What risks will arise from resuming your usual business operations and how will you manage or mitigate these?
2. How will you need to scale back or alter your operations to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19?
3. How will you make sure your employees understand how to keep themselves and customers safe from exposure?
4. What procedures do you have in place to manage an exposure or potential exposure to COVID-19?
5. How will you review and evaluate your policies and procedures to ensure they are effective?
Work together with other key people in your business to develop a plan of action that addresses these questions and communicate it to all employees.
You may not be able to remove the risk of COVID-19 altogether. But with the right approach, you can get back to business while protecting your employees and customers.