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The current government restrictions are scheduled to end on May 5th.
If your business is in a position to resume trading or operating from your premises from early May, it’s best to put plans in place now to ensure a smooth return to the workplace.
Prioritise health and safety
With employees and members of the public likely to remain anxious for some time to come when it comes to their own personal health, you’ll need to prioritise the health & safety of your returning employees.
Workplace conditions will have to comply with a more exacting standard. It’s also likely that you’ll need to implement distancing measures as we transition out of the crisis on a phased basis.
Phased return to work
Phasing employees back in small numbers will allow you to comply with distancing measures.
You’ll have to first identify which employees are most essential to have back in the workplace. These essential employees could be, for example, managers or those who perform critical functions.
Leaving a two-week gap between each cohort of returning employees will allow you to manage the return to work and identify any issues before the workplace returns to capacity.
Discrimination risks
There is a risk that employees who are not permitted to return to work on medical grounds could make discrimination claims.
On the other hand, high-risk employees should not return to the workplace until it’s safe for them to do so.
If you do decide to conduct a medically-based or risk-based reopening (using factors such as age or underlying health conditions), explore the possibility of providing employees with reasonable accommodations to reduce the risk of discrimination claims.
High-risk employees
You’ll have to carefully consider employees who are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and employees with underlying medical conditions. Their return to the workplace should only be confirmed when it's 100% safe for them to do so.
Employees returning to the workplace may suffer from increased anxiety or stress associated with the return to work.
You should be prepared to offer support (through an EAP if you have one), and be ready to engage in discussions with individual employees about how to address their concerns.
