Following the government’s announcement last night that we are moving to Plan B, it has been confirmed that from Monday 13 December 2021 staff should work from home if they can. The government’s full guidance can be found here.
The guidance largely mirrors previous advice and confirms that office workers who can work from home should do so. The guidance acknowledges that anyone who cannot work from home should continue to go to work. Examples of this could be when equipment necessary to complete the role is located in the workplace or the role must be completed in person. It is also accepted that in-person working will be necessary in some cases to ensure the effective and accessible delivery of public services and private industry. Importantly businesses are not required to close their offices and so customer meetings or other activities which cannot be effectively undertaken remotely can still take place in the office.
Employers are still required to take appropriate measures to protect staff’s health and safety including;
- Ensuring adequate ventilation
- Encouraging the wearing of face masks indoors and during meetings
- Encouraging staff to take regular lateral flow tests
- Ensuring access to soap or hand sanitiser.
Other measures could include plastic screening and additional spacing between staff but the government has not re-introduced social distancing measures at the moment.
There is currently no review point or end date for these measures.
The measures are due to be voted upon in Parliament today (9 December 2021) and are likely to be updated as we progress throughout winter. It is important that employers continue to ensure that they take proportionate measures to protect everyone and continue to review their plans and risk assessments as things develop.
If you are affected by this please do contact our Gary Smith on 01279 712576 or via email gsmith@nockolds.co.uk to discuss how this is impacting your business.