There are several decisions employers need to take to manage COVID now restrictions have gone. Let\u2019s start with lateral flow testing (LFTs). LFTs will help detect asymptomatic cases in your business and determine if someone is off sick as a result of COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As tests are no longer available for free on the NHS, you need to decide whether you are willing to provide these through your company. This is a health and safety decision that depends on whether you need to protect vulnerable members of staff. It may also be a temporary measure until we know more about how virulent the disease remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You then need to look at whether staff should self-isolate when they test positive. And if they do so, will you cover pay, sick pay, or ask them to take it as unpaid leave? Or are they able to work from home while isolating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeworking gives one solution to the issue of self-isolation here. If an employee is able, they can continue their job from home while self-isolating or caring for others. This will reduce the need for absences and maintain levels of productivity within your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the changes that need to have a permanent consideration is an approach to infectious diseases in the workplace. As we\u2019ve learned over the past few years, the best way to control infectious diseases is with good hygiene. Mask-wearing, hand washing, keeping surfaces clean and maintaining a distance when you are ill are all important factors in reducing risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do not need COVID for an infectious outbreak in an office. Having these policies in place can help reduce other instances such as norovirus, chickenpox, and flu from spreading. This in turn will help reduce absences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your final key to creating post COVID safety at work is to make sure you communicate the changes to your staff and explain why these changes are taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, you need your staff to act and behave in the right way to keep the workplace safe. This is done through clear internal communication and from your leadership team modelling what is expected of everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-COVID<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We will eventually move into a time when we live with the virus. Right now, we are still in a transition period. Businesses need space to experiment and work out what\u2019s right for them and their teams. It means testing ideas and being confident about the change if the plan isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a flexible approach will put you in a good position for whatever comes next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of 1 April 2022, all final COVID restrictions are lifted. This passes the responsibility for making decisions and keeping staff safe from the Government over to business. While you can roll back any changes you\u2019ve made over the past couple of years, it\u2019s worth taking time to do this strategically. This blog looks at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-covid-19"],"yoast_head":"\n