gov.uk guidance 11 May: working safely during COVID-19 (including in homes)

[happysteve]

Published today, Monday 11 May:

Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace

Public health principles for reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace.

www.gov.uk

... including:

Homes:

Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace

Public health principles for reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace.

www.gov.uk

Construction and other outdoor work:

Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace

Public health principles for reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace.

www.gov.uk

Factories, plants and warehouses:

Reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace

Public health principles for reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace.

www.gov.uk

 

[telectrix]

wtf has "equality in the workplace" got to do with keeping safe from corona?

 

[littlespark]

I’m not reading it, cos ms sturgeon said no change.

 

[happysteve]

I’m not reading it, cos ms sturgeon said no change.

Fair enough

For "clarity" on whether the documents apply to all the nations within the UK, or just England, here's an extract from the introduction of the PDFs:


This document is to help employers, employees and the self- employed in the UK understand how to work safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping as many people as possible 2 metres apart from those they do not live with. We hope it gives you freedom within a practical framework to think about what you need to do to continue, or restart, operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand how important it is to work safely and support your workers’ health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is clear that workers should not be forced into an unsafe workplace.

This document has been prepared by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with input from firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Public health is devolved in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; this guidance should be considered alongside local public health and safety requirements and legislation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For advice to businesses in other parts of the UK please see guidance set by the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government.

We expect that this document will be updated over time. This version is up to date as of 11 May 2020. You can check for updates at www.gov.uk/workingsafely. If you have any feedback for us, please email [email protected].

(bits in bold is my emphasis only)

 

[littlespark]

I meant to put a smiley on my post to infer that I will read it at sometime...


There it is

 

[telectrix]

as if life wasn't boring enough at this time, reading through all that crappy waffle could make one suicidal. whatever happened to Plain English, and get to the bloody point.

 

[Midwest]

Those of you employed in the domestic market, has the guidance changed now, i.e. have you read this new guidance and understood this new guidance?

 

[littlespark]

Nothing has changed as far as I can see.
I believe any changes Boris announced were not applicable until today anyway.

You can go out and exercise for more than an hour a day.

Truthfully? I was out maybe 3 times a day, for a total of maybe 2 hours..... Lock me up and throw away the key.

Im noticing an upturn in traffic here now. I walk the dog same route, same time every morning since lockdown began. Lucky if I saw 3 maybe 4 private cars.... The odd lorry or tractor....
Today.... 12 passed me in quick succession. And the usual boy racer passing 2 with something coming the other way.

 

[telectrix]

Nothing has changed as far as I can see.
I believe any changes Boris announced were not applicable until today anyway.

You can go out and exercise for more than an hour a day.

Truthfully? I was out maybe 3 times a day, for a total of maybe 2 hours..... Lock me up and throw away the key.

Im noticing an upturn in traffic here now. I walk the dog same route, same time every morning since lockdown began. Lucky if I saw 3 maybe 4 private cars.... The odd lorry or tractor....
Today.... 12 passed me in quick succession. And the usual boy racer passing 2 with something coming the other way.

boy racer excercising his right foot, with his brain locked away in his left foot.

 

[Midwest]

So the guidance for working in people’s homes, is still just essential maintenance and repairs?

 

[telectrix]

i understood from previous guidelines that essential repairs only applied to visiting houses where occupants were vunerable/ self-isolating.there's been no restriction on working in homes provided precautions are taken.

 

[littlespark]

I don’t know why I can go into someone’s house, socially distant, to work.... when I don’t know how clean the place is, but I can’t visit my parents using the same rules.
Unless I’m changing a lightbulb for them. (Essential repair)

 

[happysteve]

So the guidance for working in people’s homes, is still just essential maintenance and repairs?

Here's a picture from the guidance PDF:

Source:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb967e286650c2791ec7100/working-safely-during-covid-19-other-peoples-homes-110520.pdf

They don't look like they're doing essential repairs and maintenance.

(At the risk of derailing the thread... what kind of light fittings require rectangular cutouts?)

 

[richy3333]

(At the risk of derailing the thread... what kind of light fittings require rectangular cutouts?)

Maybe rectangular ones?

 

[littlespark]

Page 20 of that publication.
Guy cutting through wood with a circular saw, looking at the camera, not the workpiece.
He’s going to lose a finger if he doesn’t pay attention.

 

[telectrix]

Page 20 of that publication.
Guy cutting through wood with a circular saw, looking at the camera, not the workpiece.
He’s going to lose a finger if he doesn’t pay attention.

he's already got all his fingers bandaged up anyway.

 

[Midwest]

i understood from previous guidelines that essential repairs only applied to visiting houses where occupants were vunerable/ self-isolating.there's been no restriction on working in homes provided precautions are taken.

Think we’ve argued that to death before, but my reading of it was anybody’s house vulnerable or not etc.

However that was then, I’m interested in the now or what it will be.
[automerge]1589362654[/automerge]

Here's a picture from the guidance PDF:


Source:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb967e286650c2791ec7100/working-safely-during-covid-19-other-peoples-homes-110520.pdf

They don't look like they're doing essential repairs and maintenance.

Having briefly read through that. You carry out and document a risk assessment, wear PPE (for COViD19) where appropriate, then can carry out routine works?

 

[happysteve]

Having briefly read through that. You carry out and document a risk assessment, wear PPE (for COViD19) where appropriate, then can carry out routine works?

If by "where appropriate" you mean, "responding to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19" then yes. If you mean "wear PPE (for COVID-19)" more generally, then the guidance does not state this.

Here's what it says about PPE (bold bits my emphasis):


PPE protects the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory protective equipment, such as face masks.

Where you are already using PPE in your work activity to protect against non-COVID-19 risks, you should continue to do so.

At the start of this document we described the steps you need to take to manage COVID-19 risk in the workplace. This includes working from home and staying 2m away from each other in the workplace if at all possible. 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.

The exception is clinical settings, like a hospital, or a small handful of other roles for which Public Health England advises use of PPE. For example, first responders and immigration enforcement officers. If you are in one of these groups you should refer to the advice at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus- covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-plan/covid-19- personal-protective-equipment-ppe-plan

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19- decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings/covid-19- decontamination-in-non-healthcare-settings.

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 .

 

[Baddegg]

words words words

 

[ferg]

Page 20 of that publication.
Guy cutting through wood with a circular saw, looking at the camera, not the workpiece.
He’s going to lose a finger if he doesn’t pay attention.

The whole point of the measures is to slow the spread of the virus to a manageable rate not to prevent the spread.

So measures are in place that sound contradictory but really it's just accepting spread in some areas but limiting it in others to keep the rate of spread at a manageable level.

That's my understanding of it anyway.