BSC launches post-lockdown support for employers

The government's 60-page document  sets out the UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy. The document includes setting out a new “more differentiated approach to risk” and advises that workplaces should follow new “COVID-19 Secure” guidelines, which will be published this week. The aim of the guidelines is to ensure the risk of infection is as low as possible, while allowing as many people as possible to resume their livelihoods.

The British Safety Council has developed new support for employers, including a new COVID-19 specific risk assessment for employers to use in setting up their Preparedness and Response Plan. British Safety Council chief executive Mike Robinson said: “There is very little detail in this new document about how the government expects employers to make workplaces safer, beyond what amounts to common sense – we will have to wait to see what the guidelines say when they are published later in the week. I fear that in rushing to have something to say the government has just muddied the waters leaving everyone more confused and putting workers at risk.

“Workers have a right to safe workplaces and employers deserve clarity from government as to what is expected of them. Whatever the guidance says when it finally comes out, we stand ready to help any organisation ensure they are taking every possible step to protect employees and customers.”