Spalding solicitor advises on how to return to work safely when lockdown ends

The thought of returning to work, regardless of whether your work is based in an office, shop or factory, is a daunting prospect for many, and employers will now need to weigh up the potential risks involved with their return to the new normal.

Daven Naghen, a partner of Spalding based Maples Solicitors, who specialises in Criminal Law, Motoring and Licensing matters, is urging employers to put practices in place to ensure employee and client safety.

However, with eight Government documents to examine, there may be some areas of confusion for many, which is why Mr Naghen is hoping to simplify the advice.

He said: “The guidance isn’t asking business owners to eliminate the risk of catching COVID-19, but it is advising how they can reduce the risk of employees and clients contracting it.

“People will be feeling fearful and confused about this, but it is important to remember that this is a worldwide pandemic and we cannot 100 per cent protect everyone against it.

“Most businesses will have already carried out risk assessments before, perhaps regarding trip hazards or screen time, and this is the same thing; it is all about identifying risks.

“The idea is that employers should be putting procedures in place – they should consider what is right for their business as no one knows their business better than them.

“However, employees also need to think about their own risks – they do not want to be at the start of a chain of events which could lead to a colleague becoming ill
and passing this illness to others.

“The concern is that some people may think that they could have had coronavirus and, therefore, that they do not need to worry about catching or passing it on.

“However, science has not yet given us answers on immunity and, while this may change after further research, employers need to manage this mindset through the threat of disciplinary
action.

“If an employee is not complying with the procedures in place there should be stages of dealing with it.

“Firstly, speak to them and try to educate and inform them that the procedures are in place for their own protection.

“If it happens again, this could be the point at which a disciplinary is held. Essentially, the employee would have breached company rules and it could even potentially be classed as gross misconduct.

“If you look at a building site, there are procedures put in place to keep people safe. If someone were to drive a forklift in the wrong direction of a one-way system they would be putting people at risk – and it’s highly likely that disciplinary action would be taken.

“This is the same thing – it is just another risk and it needs to be taken as seriously as other risks.”

There are concerns over legal proceedings being brought against business owners by employees who may find themselves contracting the virus, but Mr Naghen hopes that businesses will be able to keep these fears at bay by taking a sensible approach to the guidelines.

He said: “There has been talk of corporate manslaughter but there would be evidential problems in proving when the virus was caught.

“The incubation period could be two days, or five, and if people are commuting to and from work, or going shopping, it could have been caught anywhere.

“It would have to be proven that employers had been negligent and hadn’t taken precautions and, if a case were to get as far as going to court, it would be for a judge to decide if what the employer did to manage the risk was reasonable.

“Employers should plan for what can reasonably and practically be done to manage the risks.

“It’s all about making sensible precautions – the point is to make sure that people are safe but it is impossible to ask businesses to create a system where no one can catch COVID-19.

“There is also no harm in learning from what happens after initially setting up systems. In fact, this happens all of the time in businesses – reassessing and tweaking the risk policy is a good idea and will be beneficial to all.”

Consulting your employees on their ideas COULD be beneficial

• They may have a better understanding of what happens on the ‘shop floor’
• They will likely have strong feelings about processes to put in place
• They may have heard other ideas from friends and family working elsewhere
• It could leave you with many ideas to consider
• The worst case would be that the ideas don’t fit in – but it’s worth listening

Ideas for employers to consider

• How many people are in an area at one time
• How much contact employees have with each other
• Staggering start times
• Stagger the number of employees brought back in to work
• Stagger break times
• Ask employees to use different entrances and exits
• One in, one out policy for customers
• Seating colleagues back-to-back when 2m distancing isn’t possible
• Design a one-way system for walkways