The new normal: how can we continue working safely with COVID?

Recently, the UK government announced their plan to end all legal coronavirus restrictions across the country.

This includes things like mandatory face masks, social distancing, and even self-isolating when you test positive will no longer be enforced.

This is a good thing for getting the economy and UK business back up and running, but what does that mean for health and safety in the workplace?

In this article, we’re going to look at how you can incorporate healthy work practices in your business and continue working safely with COVID – as it’s not completely gone away, yet!

3 ways to control the risk of COVID at work

Despite restrictions lifting, there’s no denying that COVID is still spreading across the country so it’s up to business owners to continue implementing rules and regulations.

Here are three ways that you can contain the spread of COVID and keep your employees safe at work:

Provide adequate PPE to all members of staff

Although things like face masks are no longer mandatory, some members of staff may still want to wear them, so the correct equipment should always be provided.

When staff are working in close proximity to each other, viruses can quickly spread, but this risk can be minimised when the correct PPE is worn.

Provide face masks, gloves, face shields etc. for staff to use if they want to.

Encourage good hygiene practices

Encouraging staff to clean the equipment after they use it, or washing their hands regularly, are good hygiene practices to follow – regardless of COVID-19.

Providing hand sanitiser around the workplace, putting up signs that remind staff to practice good hygiene and educating your workforce on why it’s important are all very important considerations for workplaces in ‘the new normal’.

Keep your workplace well ventilated

If you’re working in an enclosed space, having adequate ventilation will ensure a constant flow of fresh air which can reduce the number of viruses in the air.

This puts your workers at less risk of breathing in potentially harmful particles and prevents people from being able to spread the virus as easily while at work.

For people with underlying health issues, or people who worry about transmitting the virus to at-risk members of their family, they may still be feeling worried about being in the workplace, so keeping everyone protected is important.

By incorporating these three things into your workplace, you’ll make everything much safer for everyone.