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Our Environmental Health Team are working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in contacting local businesses to check they are maintaining measures in the workplace to help tackle COVID-19.
Protecting workers and others
They are also working alongside local public health authorities to support the understanding of any patterns in confirmed coronavirus cases in the area.
Working to manage the transmission of COVID-19 means businesses need to conduct a risk assessment to understand the measures they may require to protect workers and others from coronavirus. For further information on how to manage the risk of coronavirus in different business sectors read the government guidance.
Manage and support work related stress
As part of its activity, HSE will also check that businesses have measures in place to both manage work related stress and to support workers. Where stress may be a problem, employers should include it in their risk assessment and take action to tackle it. You can find more information here:
Advice and guidance
During the checks the HSE provides advice and guidance to manage risk and protect workers, customers and visitors and where some businesses are not managing this, they will take immediate action. This can range from the provision of specific advice, issuing enforcement notices, stopping certain work practices until they are made safe and, where in rare circumstances the businesses fail to comply, this could lead to prosecution.
HSE and local authority inspectors are finding some common issues across a range of sectors that include failing to provide arrangements for monitoring, supervising and maintaining and failing to introduce an adequate cleaning regime particularly at busy times of the day.
Spot checks
All businesses are in scope for spot checks which means businesses of any size, in any sector could receive an unannounced check to ensure they are working safely to manage the risk of spreading COVID.
For the latest information and safer business guidance, see:
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