Back-to-work must be made safe

If people can’t work from home they should go back to work, Boris Johnson told a stunned nation last month as he embarked on easing the coronavirus lockdown.

But they should avoid using public transport, and if their children were still off school … well, that wasn’t explained.

Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, warned of confusion and anxiety. Unions want to support a safe return to work, she said, but the government must provide clear direction with tough new rules on workplace safety.

New safety rules were published separately from the government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, Our plan to rebuild. They included several sector-specific guides and five overall steps to working safely: employers should carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment; develop cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures; help people to work from home; maintain two metres social distancing “where possible”; and where not, “manage transmission risk”.

For England, the mantra is now: sectors of the economy allowed to be open “should be open”. That includes food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and scientific lab research.

Having criticised earlier drafts, the TUC accepted that the new rules were a step in the right direction, but said working people would only feel confident if government and employers “act now to make safer working a reality in every workplace”.

That meant getting to grips with the ongoing crisis in personal protective equipment.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/tuc-proposals-ensuring-safe-return-work

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/884760/Our_plan_to_rebuild_The_UK_Government_s_COVID-19_recovery_strategy.pdf