Introduction
Now that the government have removed all COVID-19 restrictions, employers need to consider how to continue working safely with Coronavirus.
This article sets out what to consider when introducing a workplace policy on managing COVID-19 safely.
Firstly, when creating a policy, the business circumstances, its requirements and assessment of risk from COVID-19 transmission must be thoroughly considered. Any policy must be fair, reasonable and proportionate.
We offer a template policy that is suitable for all businesses, except for those operating in the health and social care sector (due to the very specific nature of how they must manage COVID-19).
Within our template policy we deal with COVID-19 screening measures, clinically vulnerable people, health and safety obligations and other areas such as managing business travel and holiday.
The policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010, Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (section 2 and 7).
How to generate your policy
Once you have added the policy to your basket and downloaded it, you will see throughout the policy, icons and highlighted areas. The icons used are for guidance on how to amend the document and should be deleted from the final document, together with any non-applicable optional clauses.
Customising your policy
In addition to the text emphasised with icons and highlights, you can also amend the font, margins and footer information to suit your needs.
All fonts used throughout the document are set in the Styles panel (under the Home Tab in Word 2007+).
To change the font settings, right click on the style and click Modify. Make the appropriate changes and click OK. Your document will automatically update wherever that style is used.
To remove the icons, click on them and press delete. You will find a checklist of customisations at the end of the document. Please run though this once you have completed your customisations.
You will also need to delete this page by clicking Insert -> Cover Page -> Remove Current Cover Page.
You should delete this prior to updating your table of contents, to ensure that the page references are all correct.
So, why download this policy?
COVID-19 has presented the world with a number of challenges and obstacles to negotiate. As the scale of the virus increased, so did the level of uncertainty surrounding the actions that businesses would be required to take, to enable them to continue to work safely, and successfully.
The changing legislation and Government guidelines have amounted to this uncertainty level reaching new heights.
We now find ourselves in a position where we must continue to operate as a business but in doing so, we must also ensure that every precaution is being taken that allows for a safe working environment to be upheld.
Our free document offers you all of the information required to successfully and safely work alongside the Coronavirus and further promotes the importance of having a policy in place, within your business, that can be easily adapted to suit your needs.
Need HR, health and safety advice?
HR Solutions are here to provide support and advice on any employment or health and safety related issues; to find out more call us on 0844 324 5840 or complete the form below.
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