Monday 19th July there are changes to COVID 19 guidance, an overview and a risk assessment format are below:
Step 4 overview
Find out what will change and what you should do to protect yourself and others.
From Step 4, legal restrictions can be lifted, all businesses can open and the government is no longer instructing people to work from home.
To support businesses through this next phase, the ‘Working Safely’ guidance will continue to provide advice on sensible precautions employers can take to manage risk and support their staff and customers.
Businesses still have a legal duty to manage risks to those affected by their business. The way to do this is to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, including the risk of COVID-19, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate the risks you identify.
You should use the guidance to consider the risk within your premises and decide which mitigations are appropriate to adopt.
In the long term, we expect that businesses will need to take fewer precautions to manage the risk of COVID-19. We will continue to keep our guidance under review and will remove advice once it’s safe to do so.
Main changes at Step 4
From Step 4, social distancing guidance will no longer apply. This means that you do not need to implement social distancing in your business, workplace or venue, and customers and workers do not need to keep apart from people they don’t live with.
The government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, so employers can start to plan a return to workplaces. During this period of high prevalence, the government expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer. You should discuss the timing and phasing of a return with your workers.
Employers and others must continue to follow statutory health and safety requirements, conduct a risk assessment, and take reasonable steps to manage risks in their workplace or setting, as set out in the below guides.
The HSE and local authorities will be actively inspecting premises to ensure that they are COVID 19 compliant. Some of the main items they want to see is a COVID 19 risk assessment. Failure to show these could lead to potential prosecution and your business being closed.
We have updated the COVID 19 risk assessment format to include the new guidance, how to contact PHE and what procedures to take in the event of an outbreak etc.
This is from the guidance for “working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance from Step 4 Offices, factories and labs”. Please find enclosed the attached risk assessment format which can help you assess your business and help you comply with current guidance.
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