1. How will staff return to the workplace?

It is likely there will be some form of social distancing for a long time and so those staff who can work from home will probably be expected to carry on doing so for some time. Meanwhile, those who have more of a requirement to attend the workplace will be able to gradually return in greater numbers.

Any plans for returning to the workplace will need to be fully compliant with the most recent Government and public health guidance and you should clearly communicate to staff how you are making the workplace safe and looking after their wellbeing.

If you have an employee assistance scheme, advise employees of this or how they can get further support if they are struggling with adjustment when returning to work. Employers should also clearly communicate the procedure staff should follow if they feel unwell at work or at home. The same reminders as immediately prior to lockdown should be made about frequent hand washing/sanitising and facilities should be provided for this. PPE required for the setting and related training should be provided by the employer if staff are coming into contact with the public.

There will need to be a full risk assessment into all staff activities and how they are carried out in the workplace before staff are able to return. This will be specific to your business, but the types of things which need to be looked at are:

2. How should I set up my workplace? 

In an office environment, you will need to set up desks at least 2 metres apart from each other. If you do not have the space or resources to do this, it might mean staggering working times or days for staff to attend the office. Even to access the workplace you may need to consider whether lifts should be out of action or a one-way system on the stairs only, if possible. As soon as anyone accesses the office it is recommended that they should be required to wash hands or use hand sanitiser before touching anything inside the workplace.

3. What about communal areas?

Areas such as break-out rooms, toilets and kitchens should all provide hand washing facilities and information but should also be limited to use by one person at a time. It would be a good idea to think about preventing use of communal facilities such as a fridge, microwave, kettle, crockery unless they can be cleaned thoroughly after every use and before the next person uses them. Separate lunch and break times could be allocated to avoid staff using communal areas at the same time.

4. Can I hold meetings or have guests entering the workplace?

Where possible meetings should be held remotely and not in person, to avoid being in close confines with others and to avoid unnecessary travel. However, if meetings are required to be held face to face, you should carefully consider the logistics of the meeting and how the room should be set up. Companies have obligations to take care of the health and safety of third parties and customers entering their premises. Hand sanitising on entry to the building should be requested and careful consideration given as to how social distancing measures can be introduced for deliveries and collections in a business’ specific circumstances.

5. Are there any documents or policies I should update before staff return to work?

Once you have carefully considered how you would like your staff to return to work, it is advisable that a clear set of policies are in place to ensure that staff are sure of what is expected of them. You might want to consider . Are the company’s sickness, health and safety, homeworking, and disciplinary policies up to date? If they are not, or you are unsure if they are fit for purpose under the current circumstances, it would be advisable to contact an employment law professional to discuss as soon as possible. Would a new Covid-19 policy be beneficial for your business? If so, clearly an employee with coronavirus symptoms would be requested to remain at home, but what about if an employer notices an employee has symptoms while they are at work? In that case would an employee be directed to go home? If so, would they be paid? Would the employee be disciplined if they refused to go home?

Would a compulsory testing policy such as mandatory temperature checks be helpful? If so, how would this be implemented, and would contractual agreement be required for this? Data protection issues may also be relevant here.          

6. What are the Health and Safety considerations for the employer on the return to the workplace after COVID-19?

There should be a carefully devised return to work plan, including clear processes for avoiding COVID-19 from being able to enter the workplace, or if it does, to avoid it from spreading from person to person or from a surface in the workplace.

A full risk assessment must be carried out as set out above. You should also consider including how cleaning will be carried out, waste disposed of and any other potentially problematic operation carried out at your workplace.

Before employees return, you may wish to consider online training or meetings on how processes will change and to allow for questions to be asked by employees and answers to be provided before they return.

Protecting the health and safety of employees, customers and third parties on its premises must be at the forefront of employers’ minds when re-opening the workplace. As well as complying with the continuing public health guidelines set out by the government, the statutory duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 require employers, amongst other things, to:

• Ensure employees are provided with training, information, instructions, and supervision which allows them to work safely.
• Keep premises well maintained and safe to access and safe to work in both physically and mentally with safe equipment and sufficient resources, including PPE. Storage, use, and transport of substances must also be safe.
• Have a clear and up-to-date written health and safety policy, and inform employees of its existence, where it can be found and of any updates.
• Provide all that is required under health and safety law free of charge for the employee.

7. Do all staff need to attend the workplace? If not, who should return to work?

The return to work and re-opening of the economy as a whole is likely to be a gradual process. It is unlikely that you need all your workforce to return to the workplace at first due to a lack of business to return to, or because work has been carried out perfectly well from home and can continue to be carried out there for the time being. If your staff are continuing to work from home you must ensure that you are keeping in touch and monitoring hours worked and wellbeing, including asking employees to undertake display screen and desk risk assessments, as well as asking employees to identify and deal with risks in their own environment, as you are still responsible for their health and safety.

Due to the nature of COVID-19, the more people who enter the workplace the higher risk the workplace poses of infecting its staff and visitors, so limits will have to be put in place and deciding how this is done is pivotal. A good starting point might be to ask staff members who feel they need to return to the workplace to better carry out their role or to ask those who are happy to volunteer to return for another reason. If there are too few volunteers there would need to be a business decision made on what roles will be needed to be performed in the workplace, giving consideration to those staff who are shielding or particularly vulnerable if infected with COVID-19. If there are too many employees volunteering in the same department or at the same level of management, the employer will need to decide, without discriminating, who should and should not return to the workplace or devise a rota for return on specific days.

8. Can Furlough leave be extended once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends?

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is currently due to end on 30 June 2020 and may be extended again, but if it is not or is not extended, employers should consider what they will do next.

In order to avoid making redundancies and to give your business a longer time to consider what to do, an employer could, with the agreement of its affected employees, agree to extend furlough on the same or revised terms. Although the business will have to fund this itself, without the benefit of the government grant after the end date of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. If agreed with employees, it may also be possible to furlough new employees or rotate employees on furlough so that employees on furlough feel valued and do not become isolated or deskilled.  

Whilst this may not be an option for many smaller businesses this can avoid redundancy costs and if an agreement is sought before an employer considers dismissing 20 or more employees, there will not already be a requirement for collective consultation. However, if an extended furlough scheme is a formal alternative to redundancy of 20 or more employees, collective consultation will be required. 

If an employee’s contract of employment contains a lay off clause, this could be of use. However, lay-off provisions will require you to pay minimum guarantee payments for some of the time and are subject to the implied term of trust and confidence. So you should consult with employees first and give reasonable notice of any lay off to avoid a breach of contract claim. Also, be aware that employees laid off for four or more consecutive weeks, or six weeks in any 13-week period, can resign and claim a statutory redundancy payment in certain circumstances. Layoff, therefore, is only a very short-term solution.

9. How will international aspects of my business be affected?

If your business operates internationally, there are more complexities in dealing with not only UK restrictions and guidelines, but also those of other nations, which may vary significantly to those of the UK. Your business should try to operate as consistently as possible without being in breach of any of the guidelines and respecting the restrictions in the different geographical regions your business operates in.

International travel is likely to remain disrupted for some time, even when other restrictions have been lifted and quarantine rules are likely to play a part in many countries’ defence against a second wave of infection of COVID-19, meaning it could prohibit a lot of business travel where the duration of stay is likely to be under two weeks in many cases. Employers should also be aware of health and safety responsibilities to employees and frequent business travel is likely to place employees at a higher risk of infection than if they were to work from the office or at home. Employers should carefully consider if there is another way around international travel for meetings, such as video conferencing.