Making Your Workplace COVID Safe
After announcing that Australians must now work to ‘flatten the curve of unemployment’ caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, on Friday, Scott Morrison unveiled a roadmap to a COVID safe Australia with a three-step plan in place.
This included several provisions for businesses to begin re-opening and for staff to start returning to work.
On 24 April, 2020, the National Cabinet also agreed upon National COVID-19 Safe Workplace Principles with the Government re-working the Safe Work Australia website in line with expert health advice regarding the Coronavirus pandemic.
While this includes industry-specific information for those working in hospitality, retail and general office environments, many industries such as aged care, healthcare, mining and education have been told to refer to advice from their respective governing bodies.
Regardless of your industry, it is essential to understand how each step will affect your business.
3 Step Plan For a COVID SAFE Australia (Australian Government)
What The Steps Mean For Your Business
While Scott Morrison and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy have laid out a three-step federal plan to re-open Australia after the Coronavirus lockdown, they have made it clear that it is up to each State and Territory as to when they implement each step.
Step 1
Step one will see many businesses re-open their doors. During this step, most employees should continue to work from home where possible, while employers concurrently work on developing a COVID-safe plan to prepare for staff returning to the workplace full time.
Step 2
While step two will see more businesses re-opening, there will be little change for most companies. Employees should continue to work from home where possible and workplaces that have staff on-site will need to follow the national COVID-19 safe workplace principles.
Step 3
The Prime Minister has indicated that step three will largely be dictated by what happens during stage one and two. However, when step three is implemented, most Australian organisations will likely return to business as usual.
It is crucial that all businesses, whatever their industry, start working on a COVID safe workplace plan now, in line with the following principles. By developing this plan for your team, you are ensuring your staff will feel secure in returning to work and that your business is in the best position as you begin on the road to operating at full capacity.
National COVID-19 Safe Workplace Principles
The national COVID-19 safe workplace principles as outlined by the Government includes several measures and focuses on the fact that all workers have the right to a safe and healthy work environment.
Once States and Territories move into step two and three and workplaces return to the ‘new normal’ there will be four main workplace changes that you should include in your COVID safe workplace plan.
Social Distancing
Everyone should continue to observe social distancing rules of maintaining 1.5 metres between themselves and others and where possible, there should be 4 square metres of space per person.
Depending on your industry, you could consider having workers come into the office on different days, cutting down on the number of staff in the office at any one time.
Retailers should encourage customers to use Tap and Go where possible and limit customer numbers in store.
No Team Meetings, Communal Lunches or other Staff Gatherings
All team meetings, unless considered essential, should be postponed or conducted via Zoom.
Brendan Murphy, Australia’s CMO has also suggested staggering lunch breaks and start times to reduce the likelihood of a second spike in Corona cases.
Keep it Clean
All workplaces need to be cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant at least once daily. For high traffic businesses such as retail and the health and wellness industry, you should regularly wipe down any surfaces that customers and clients come into contact with.
Businesses should consider creating a cleaning roster and ensure that all staff are trained in cleaning, disinfection and waste recommendations to minimise the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Make sure any team members taking part in the cleaning process have the correct equipment, particularly if you suspect someone infected with Coronavirus may have come into contact with the area.
Encourage your staff to maintain impeccable hygiene by regularly washing their hands and make hand sanitiser readily available.
On-Site Temperature Checks
SafeWork Australia has suggested that in specific industries, particularly where staff cohabitate or are in contact with high-risk individuals such as the sick and elderly, business owners may want to implement on-site temperature checks.
Conducting a COVID Safe Inspection of Your Workplace
Re-opening your business post-COVID may seem overwhelming at first, and many companies may struggle to understand the necessary changes.
Conducting a COVID safe inspection of your workplace is a great place to start and will quickly reveal to you where adjustments need to be made.
You can begin by assessing the physical workspace and considering the following:
How will you configure your workspace to maintain social distancing rules of 1.5 metre between each worker?
For staff working from home, how will you continue to monitor their workspace to ensure they are following OH & S Guidelines?
What processes will you put into place for customers, contractors and other visitors to your workplace?
How will you implement regular cleaning processes?
From here, review your current staff management strategy by contemplating:
How will you communicate with your team regarding your COVID safe work health and safety plan?
Your arrangements for returning staff. You might want to consider bringing staff back part-time to start with or staggering shifts to reduce the number of workers in the office at any one time.
Which of your staff will continue to work from home?
In what circumstances will you continue to use teleconferencing software such as Zoom?
Are you a small business struggling to navigate the new normal? To help business owners navigate the HR logistics of changing working conditions, we are offering a free phone consultation with HR expert, Iolanda Hazell, Director and Founder of Infinity HR. Call now on 0400 489 743.
Disclaimer
The information provided on our blog is designed to provide helpful information, and does not constitute legal or medical advice, and not intended to be a substitute for legal or medical advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should seek legal or medical advice in relation to any particular matter you or your organisation may have.
References:
3 Step Plan For A Covid Safe Australia
COVID-19 cleaning, disinfection and waste recommendations
The three-step plan for re-opening Australia after Covid-19 and what Stage 1, 2 and 3 looks like