Returning to work
The Welsh Government guidance says people are strongly encouraged to work from home if they can.
Employers have a responsibility to ensure health and safety practices are in place if employees are returning to work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes approved codes of practice and guidance on health and safety law.
In summary, employers should:
- Undertake a risk assessment;
- Set up safe systems of work, informed by the risk assessment;
- Implement the safe systems of work and;
- Keep the systems of work under review.
As public health is devolved, businesses in Wales will need to operate in accordance with the relevant lockdown legislation and Welsh government guidance. Meanwhile, health and safety law is not devolved in Wales. Ultimately, employers must undertake their own risk assessments and take account of all available guidance.
Priority actions from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy includes:
- Completing a COVID-19 risk assessment;
- Ensuring that there are provisions for frequent cleaning;
- Ensuring that social distancing is in place;
- Considering ventilation;
- Taking part in NHS Test and Trace;
- Turn away people with coronavirus symptoms;
- Consider the mental health and wellbeing aspects of COVID-19.
Employee Rights
Refusing to go to work
Employees who refuse to attend the workplace because they believe there is imminent danger, have certain protections under employment rights legislation. If the employer is complying to the Government's working safely guidance will be a relevant factor, as will employee's vulnerability to COVID-19.
In Wales, people who are shielding or clinically extremely vulnerable are no longer advised to shield. The guidance on shielding states that people should work from home where possible but that if they cannot do so then they are able to go to work providing it is a safe environment.
Guidance for Employers
In May 2020 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published guidance for working safely during COVID-19. This includes advice for eight different types of working environments.
It is important that employers take a risk assessment of the workplace prior to employees returning. HSE has produced a basic guide on risk assessments which may be useful for employers, this can be found here.
Employers with more than five employees are obliged to prepare and when appropriate, revise a written health and safety policy.
The enforcement of health and safety law is shared between HSE and local authorities. The HSE's responsibility includes ensuring factories and building sites whilst local authorities cover smaller businesses such as retail, offices and hospitality businesses.
Employers can be served with 'improvement and prohibition' notices if they are not complying to health and safety rules.
Steps employers can take to ensure that the risk of COVID in the workplace is mitigated include:
- Ventilating the workplace;
- Providing rooms/ workspaces that are large enough to allow for social distancing;
- Providing suitable cleaning equipment and washing facilities;
- Ensuring a safe circulation of people within the workplace.
Additional information
Employers within the hospitality and leisure sectors must continue to wear face coverings if they are likely to come in contact with the public.
Staying at home
If you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 10 days from when your symptoms started, if you live with others all of you must stay in for a minimum of 14 days. See the stay at home guidance for more information.
FAQ's
My employer wants me to come in even though I feel ill, what should I do?
Employees are required to take time off work if they are ill. Government is clear that employers should support their staff’s welfare, especially during an extended response.
By law, medical evidence is not required for the first 7 days of sickness (that is, employees can self-certify), however an isolation note is now available for people online here .
My employer wants me to come to work. How do I respond when I don’t have a sick note?
Employees must take time off work if they’re ill.
By law, medical evidence is not required for the first 7 days of sickness (that is, employees can self-certify), however an isolation note is now available for people online here .
More information
Business Wales includes a number of guides on how individual sectors can safely operate, and also includes the Welsh Government official guidance. https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/workplace-guidance
More information can also be found on the UK Governments website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.