Back to business: getting your doors open safely and without delay

As part of the continued easing of lockdown restrictions, from July 4, pubs, cinemas, galleries, restaurants and much of the service and entertainment industry can re-open. But only those businesses that have complied with the five requirements the government has mandated to gain COVID-19 Secure status are allowed to do so— the sorts of businesses we know and love, in The North Laines and all over the city.

And as the city visibly re-opens, the crucial professional services we don’t see — the ad agencies, accountants, recruiters and business consultants — will be thinking about how to safely bring employees back from furlough and re-open offices.

Whatever sector you operate in there are five practical steps your business needs to think about to enable it to become COVID-19 Secure, and ready to open as soon as it is safe to do so:

1. Carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment

All employers must assess the risk of returning to work. If your business employs five or less people, you don’t have to write down the results but there are lots of benefits to doing so, including:

• Providing evidence that you have actively considered the risks COVID-19, as well as demonstrating what action you’ve taken to reduce them, were your employees or customers to be directly impacted by the pandemic.
• Acting as a checklist to help you ensure you stick to the actions you committed to taking.
• Giving reassurance to your workforce, potential clients and anyone inspecting your premises. 

2. Facilitate still working from home, where possible

Do all of your employees need to physically be in the office? Could they continue to do their job remotely?

Where viable, talk to your staff about what equipment they need to make remote working effective and sustainable.

3. Create cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures

Develop a plan to increase the frequency and intensity of handwashing and surface cleaning.

This is likely to include simple but effective steps like providing sanitiser around the workplace, particularly in typically busy or unavoidably communal areas. Plus, regularly disinfecting objects and surfaces that are touched frequently.

4. Maintain social distancing, where possible

There are a huge number of ways to achieve this. The sorts of ideas we’re seeing effectively implemented right now:

• Putting up signs and using floor tape to remind workers and visitors of social distancing guidance;
• One-way systems around the workplace; and
• A suspension of hot-desking and workstation sharing.

5. Where strict social distancing isn’t possible, manage the risk

Can you reduce person-to-person contact with small, fixed teams or staggered shifts? Can you use screens to create a barrier to help avoid transmission? Can your business operate without completing the activity? 

It can be hard to even start to think about how you might change a business when you’re close to it. But at Hybred Consultancy, because we’re talking to companies of all sizes and sectors facing similar challenges to you, we’re full of practical solutions.

Who are we?

Hybred Consultancy is a tried and trusted team of experts, with specialists in health and safety, HR and events. Hybred Consultancy offers cohesive solutions to organisations of all sizes, enabling them to trade safely, legally and confidently.

From detailed risk assessments to restructuring consultations, Hybred Consultancy will help your business navigate government guidance and existing laws, providing COVID-19 Secure Certificates of Assessment and auto-updates as guidelines develop and change.

Becky Stevens is a Senior Health and Safety Consultant and Co-founder at Hybred Consultancy.

To speak to an expert, visit their website or call 01273 053533.

Safe Opening Packages are available from £120 (+VAT), with discounts of up to 50% for the team’s most popular package during June.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk