Government guidance on conducting COVID-19 Risk Assessments in the workplace
22 May 2020
A significant number of members have been asking about their obligations with regard to undertaking risk assessments in the work place in anticipation of workers unable to work from home in the current pandemic; returning to the work place. There has been much discussion about this subject and it also touches on the need or otherwise to make provision for PPE. Other questions have arisen around the apparent request from Government for companies to publish their COVID Risk Assessments on their public websites. The latter point is particularly contentious and a number of members have become understandably exercised about it. A number of members have also asked about a COVID-template for risk assessments. Let’s take each of these points in turn:-
1) The provision of PPE
With the most recent Government publication on this topic (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/factories-plants-and-warehouses ) this is now a fairly easy item to address.
For non-clinical environments such as those in which BFPA and BFPDA members operate, the Government position states:-
Non-health and social care settings
For [non-health and social care] workers and sectors, based on current evidence, there is very little scientific evidence of widespread benefit from PPE. Instead, practising good hand hygiene and social distancing is key to minimising the risk of infection. We emphasise and reassure employers that for the majority the most effective way they can ensure that their employees are safe at work is to:
- where possible, alter business-as-usual ways of working to ensure social distancing can take place. In some circumstances this could involve the erection of physical ‘splash barriers’ to decrease staff anxiety, or redesign of customer flows to minimise contact opportunities
- ensure staff are aware and signs are visible in the workplace reminding employees and customers not to enter the premises if they have COVID-19 symptoms such as a high temperature or persistent cough (or a member of their household displays symptoms) and to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- that employees are provided with regular breaks to allow them to wash their hands for 20 seconds. Break areas and break times should also be set up to allow for social distancing to occur to minimise contact during these times
The general guidance for factories, Plants and Warehouses is even more specific:-
When managing the risk of COVID-19, additional PPE beyond what you usually wear is not beneficial. This is because COVID-19 is a different type of risk to the risks you normally face in a workplace, and needs to be managed through social distancing, hygiene and fixed teams or partnering, not through the use of PPE.
It goes on:
Workplaces should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect against COVID-19 outside clinical settings or when responding to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
Unless you are in a situation where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is very high, your risk assessment should reflect the fact that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited. However, if your risk assessment does show that PPE is required, then you must provide this PPE free of charge to workers who need it. Any PPE provided must fit properly.
In short; there has been no instruction that requires that PPE equipment (unless required for the normal working practices of a given working environment) is worn by staff. However, as was pointed out in the recent BFPA COVID-19 Q&A Session, a good and sympathetic employer may wish to listen to employees who would take comfort from wearing or having access to such PPE and make it available any way, to those who want it.
2) The need (or otherwise), to undertake risk Assessments
As all BFPA members know, all employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment for their staff. At the risk of stating the obvious; the HSE states;
“As an employer, you’re required by law to protect your employees, and others, from harm.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the minimum you must do is:
- identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
- decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
- take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk”
This does of course include the risk of infection through COVID-19 or any other virus. The latest Government guidance document on COVID-19 also states:
You must make sure that the risk assessment for your business addresses the risks of COVID-19, using [Government] guidance to inform your decisions and control measures. A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace. If you have fewer than 5 workers, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment (Worth noting by very small members!)
So – we do need to undertake a Risk Assessment of the workplace before we invite staff back into their normal working environment and it must address the threat posed by COVID-19. A very useful piece of signage / certificate of confirmation, has been provided at:- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb963fcd3bf7f5d39550303/staying-covid-19-secure.pdf
I would recommend that BFPA and BFPDA members use it and be seen to use it by posting it in their premises.
3) The apparent request from Government for companies to publish their COVID Risk Assessments on their public websites
This topic is slightly more contentious and a little less clear. The wording in the latest BEIS guidance states that:-
You should share the results of your risk assessment with your employees. If possible, you should consider publishing it on your website (and we would expect all businesses with over 50 employees to do so).
The HSE statement is a little less prescriptive:-
“By consulting and involving people in steps you are taking to manage the risk of coronavirus in your workplace you can:
- explain the changes you are planning to work safely
- make sure changes will work and hear their ideas
- continue to operate your business safely during the outbreak
See (https://www.hse.gov.uk/news/assets/docs/talking-with-your-workers.pdf ), on how best to do this.
You should share the results of your risk assessment with your workforce. If possible, you should consider publishing the results on your website (and the government expects all employers with over 50 workers to do so).”
The Government is clearly trying to persuade employers to put their risk assessments on their public website although they have not instructed companies to follow this guideline. Many companies are not happy about this and we are currently lobbying BEIS to relax these statements. I shall keep members informed of progress on this topic. As one member put it; “No way am I going to publish company confidential data on my public website!” As the trade association for the sector I certainly cannot and wouldn’t advise any member to go against Government recommendations but it is fair to say that the guideline is, to a degree, open to interpretation! We are working on this issue.
Finally:
4) Are there any templates that are available to help with the COVID-safe risk assessment?
There are many standard risk assessment templates available from the HSE website. See (https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/risk-assessment-template-and-examples.htm)
As regards a COVID-SAFE specific template, companies are tending to write their own using the various pieces of advice in the above referenced guidelines. (Especially the one at (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/factories-plants-and-warehouses)
To try and be more helpful I have been in touch with our affinity partner, QUEST, and managed to source an example of one such template. It is not ‘rocket science’ or overly complicated but it should help members start to address the required content for their own COVID-19 risk assessment. There are two downloads which might be helpful: COVID-19 Risk Assessment and comprehensive-risk-assessment-and-guide.
Finally, as an interesting and informative example of how one company is managing their back to work plan I would highly recommend you watching the following short YouTube clip:-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-52624288/coronavirus-how-to-run-a-factory-during-a-pandemic
Chris Buxton
chrisbuxton@bfpa.co.uk