Following the successful rollout of vaccines against the COVID19 virus, we have been asked by clients, what should employers do when employees have been vaccinated from COVID19? Most people receiving the vaccine in the first wave are elderly and retired people. However, some younger working people have received the vaccine in the first wave. This could be because they are clinically extremely vulnerable or they are a health care worker or engaged in a similar sector. Following Lockdown Rules Anyone who receives the vaccine must continue to follow lockdown rules and your COVID-19 secure workplace procedures. These must still be adhered to as even vaccinated employees could potentially transmit the virus to unvaccinated people. Vaccination does alter an employer’s approach for some clinically highly vulnerable staff. Having the vaccine means these workers can better protect themselves. After both doses have been received, they may be able to finish shielding and return to the workplace. However, only if it’s essential that they return to the workplace and following an individual risk assessment. Current lockdown rules will apply to other employees who may still need to work from home, depending on the nature of the role. Planning for Wider Rollout Vaccinations in […]
Since the pandemic hit the UK earlier this year many employees have worked from home and it seems some employers have found issues with home working. Here is a guide to home working and how we can make these issues easier. It now seems it will be a long time before everything returns to normal. Therefore, employees may be required to work from home more often. Even if your employees have worked from home before, they might not have spent such a long time away from their colleagues. In one sense, we’re all in it together, but in another sense, it’s a different experience for everyone. Having additional responsibilities, such as childcare, or losing out on chances to socialise might be starting to affect your employees. What are the Advantages? Besides preventing employees from catching the coronavirus and passing it on to others by social distancing, home working creates a more flexible schedule, the ability to work from any location, and no more commuting were the top reported benefits The cost savings associated with remote work may win over many companies. As well, switching to virtual meets in some instances can also be a significant cost savings. Employers and employees […]
Dr Tok Hussain (Consultant Occupational Physician) from Healthwork Ltd writes a guest blog for us this week discussing the benefits of Occupational Health to employers. Occupational health (OH) is a service that many employers value in looking after their employees as well as managing health related and corporate risk. Occupational health is a specialist branch of medicine concerned with the effects of work on health and health on work. So, for example, an occupational health nurse or doctor might be carrying out hearing tests to ensure workers don’t develop deafness as a result of their work. The nurse or doctor might also be seeing someone who has had a heart attack or is suffering with anxiety and then advising about how that worker can safely return to work. Occupational health focuses on providing the best possible advice in relation to health and work. Occupational Health focuses on: maximising people’s opportunities to benefit from healthy and rewarding work while not putting themselves or others at risk of harm; the elimination of preventable illness caused or aggravated by work; advising about workplace health matters; helping to rehabilitate those who have suffered injury or sickness back into work; helping support those who because […]
Working out how to cope with COVID at work this winter isn’t easy because the data is conflicting. Are we going to have more deaths? More illness but fewer deaths? More flu and less COVID or more COVID and less flu? With more local lockdowns happening and more schools shutting temporarily one thing’s for sure, no one knows what is going to happen. If you’re planning how to cope with COVID at work this winter, we have some tips that might help. If you have 25% absenteeism, can you still operate? What about 50%? If nothing else, the last six months have shown us some new ways of dealing with a lack of people in the workplace. Some of these plans will still work as we approach winter, some won’t. Have you done as much as you can to cross-train people to carry out multiple roles? Test this cross training by rotating people now, rather than waiting for a crisis. Because you’ll find wrinkles in the process that need sorting out and this way you’ve got time. Are your IT systems up to the job? Can people easily access the information they need to do their job and the work […]
The Working Time Regulations set out how much people are allowed to work on average. According to the government website, gov.uk: ‘You can’t work more than 48 hours a week on average – normally averaged over 17 weeks.’ However, there are some exceptions to this, and employees can opt-out. In this article, we will look at what those exceptions are, what activities count towards working time, and how your employees can opt-out. Working Time Regulations This is sometimes called the Working Time Directive. They set out the maximum number of hours anyone can work. They also cover rest breaks and holiday accrual. Under 18s cannot work longer than 40 hours each week, or 8 hours in a day. Have a look at our article here on employing children for more information. Adult employees should not usually work more than 48 hours per week on average. Sometimes, staff will need to work more than 48 hours in a week, which is ok as long as it averages out to no more than 48. The weekly average should be calculated over 17 weeks. If your staff are working more than 48 hours a week on average, you will either need to ask […]
Metis HR specialises in HR matters but we are sometimes asked how to prepare for a Health and Safety Workplace Inspection. We believe that the best preparation is advanced planning, don’t wait until you get notification that the HSE are on their way. We’ve put together some step by step tips to get in place now so that you are better prepared. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail Ideally, your preparations should start long before the threat of an announced or unannounced inspection. Have you documented all the relevant risk assessments, and implemented the control measures, or at very least started the process of implementing? Do you have a named person in the organisation who has taken responsibility for health and safety matters? Have you told people? Are all of your health and safety policies and procedures properly documented and reviewed? Do you have records of when your employees were last trained? Do they need refresher training? Have you previously had an inspection that left you with things to do? Have you done them? Is machinery or equipment all in good working order with any safety guards fully operational? How do you escalate health and safety matters that are not […]
