New Government guidance around safe working welcomed
New Government guidance for businesses on continued safe working during coronavirus has been welcomed by the Business and Economic Response and Recovery Group (BERRG) of the Local Resilience Forum, the multi-agency network that is leading Cumbria’s response to COVID-19.
The UK Government has recently published new guidelines around social distancing in the workplace for those employers continuing to work.
They cover a number of sectors, including:
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Construction
- Logistics
- Transport
The measures are described on the Government’s website – www.gov.uk -- as “a list of tailored advice for different scenarios as an example of how social distancing and other measures might be implemented by employers in England to help protect their workforce and customers from coronavirus while still continuing to trade.”
Jo Lappin, who chairs BERRG and is the Chief Executive of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP), said: “These are seriously challenging times for the UK economy and it’s vital that we get the message across that where organisations are able to work safely then they should continue to do so.
“There’s a misconception that only those businesses that are described as essential should be operating at the moment. That isn’t the case.
“The Government’s own original guidance made clear that, apart from those specifically requested to close, where businesses can continue to operate it is important that they do, whilst adhering to measures that will keep their workforce safe.
“We therefore welcome this further clarification across the various sectors and strongly urge Cumbria’s businesses to study the guidance at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance
“It is vitally important that we all support our businesses as they will be critical to our future economic recovery. The more businesses that can safely continue to work, the less challenging that recovery will be.”
www.gov.uk says the guidelines are not intended to be comprehensive or to represent every business’s situation, but are illustrative examples.
It also says that businesses should look to the advice being published by trade associations and similar groups on how to implement government’s guidance in their sector.