During the pandemic, many organisations have adopted new practices such as working from home, unpaid leave, or reductions in base salaries to help ride out the economic impact. For some organisations, the time has now come to test the waters and balance health and safety with employees returning to physical work locations.
Now that we are navigating the era of mass vaccinations and regular PCR testing, organisations in the UAE are ready to consider the potential opportunities and issues in facilitating a safe return to work.
This article highlights some aspects you should consider to ensure that your workplace is prepared to welcome employees back to a safe and secure environment.
The first critical step is to communicate clearly with all employees about what they can expect on their return to work. Setting clear expectations sets the employee’s mind at rest and clarifies workplace health and safety expectations. The type of information provided could include:
♦ What support will be available to employees regarding psychological wellbeing, counselling, childcare, policies at workplaces and maintaining the general health of employees
♦ Where will employees be able to find the latest information on health and safety on returning to the workplace
♦ What are the rules and restrictions for any outsourcing companies that provide services (for example, hygiene and security)? Information should include any standards adopted (for example: wearing masks and gloves and changing them as necessary, social distancing etc.)
♦ What are the implications for the employee and the organisation of any breach in following rules and guidelines
Ensure that employees are made aware of instructions and new ways of working by producing guides and training materials to support awareness. The approach taken might consist of any or all of the following:
♦ Visual, electronic and documented materials posted online and in the workplace
♦ Virtual meetings
♦ Questionnaires or surveys to understand concerns and enable targeted feedback
♦ Socially distanced training sessions
♦ Online learning courses
♦ Wear a mask while outside the home and when in the workplace
♦ Avoid crowded locations and follow the rules for social distancing of 2 metres
♦ Avoid shaking hands or hugging
♦ Wash your hands often with soap for the specified duration
♦ Ensure that your personal workspace is kept sanitised
♦ Respect all management and authority instructions
♦ Spend the shortest possible time outside and face to face with colleagues
♦ Go straight home after business hours
Provide any essential items to assist employees in maintaining the necessary level of hygiene. Items required could include:
♦ Hand and surface sanitisers
♦ Masks
♦ Gloves
♦ Tissues
♦ Additional soap supplies
♦ Paper cups and plates
♦ Plastic disposable utensils
♦ Individual work trays and stationery supplies
♦ Bins for disposal of masks and gloves
Make necessary changes to any entry and exit protocols that exist, including:
♦ Separating entry and exit routes to maintain social distancing
♦ Removing any physical access devices such as fingerprint or hand scanners to reduce infection risks. Consider using facial recognition systems for building access and for monitoring the use of personal protective equipment where appropriate
♦ Devise protocols for shared space usage such as lifts and kitchens
♦ Stagger the start and end times for employees to avoid congestion at entry and exit points
Put into action any controls needed in the workplace to minimise human contact and promote health and safety protocols. The areas you might want to consider include physical workplace organisation as well as updated processes:
♦ Encouraging flexible work options and staggered breaks
♦ Daily deep cleaning and complete sanitisation procedures
♦ Marking floors for social distancing
♦ Introducing glass or plastic barriers in customer-facing areas
♦ Introducing disposable carpet covers
♦ Restricting the number of employees and customers at the same time and place
♦ Restricting entry for visitors and suppliers
♦ Redesigning workplace layouts for traffic flow and distancing
♦ Introducing protocols around mealtimes and food storage
♦ Introducing health monitoring features such as temperature checks
♦ Providing on-site access to PCR testing facilities
♦ Setting up of protective barriers where necessary
♦ Removing vending machines and shared equipment such as coffee makers
♦ Moving any financial transactions from cash to online
♦ Reducing paper-based transactions
♦ Activate management protocols for suspected illness
♦ Create an isolation space in case any employee falls ill during working hours
♦ Holding meetings online only
Ensure that you have thought through the roles and responsibilities needed to support new activities and ensure that all the individuals involved know the consequences of a failure to adhere to safe working practices. For example:
♦ Update all contact details for employees
♦ Appoint a coordinator to liaise with authorities and keep up to date with requirements
♦ Activate a hotline for queries from employees
♦ Ensure that managers know how to spot potential COVID symptoms and are clear on any associated policies for isolating the employee, authorising sick leave, quarantine periods, required health testing, official documentation and government notification requirements etc.
♦ Establish and maintain an effective monitoring and reporting process that can be used to track and manage close contacts as well as provide support to any employee who becomes directly ill
Although there may seem to be a mountain of decisions to be made and numerous activities to be undertaken, it is essential that any return to work programme puts the health and safety of employees and customers first. All efforts made to prepare the workplace effectively will give employees and customers renewed confidence and help get your business safely back on track.
Contact us at HRBluSky today to explore how we can support you in bringing your employees back into a safe working environment.
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