As your association, we are doing the best we can to help you, our community. We have written to the government asking for recognition as an industry, and requesting guidance on safety parameters around moving forward, given the close proximity in which we operate. 

Currently there are many webinars and live Q&A sessions with industry leaders all in response to COVID-19. Whilst we, as many of you will appreciate these (as it gives us a chance to connect to and hear from our community), the truth is, we are all guessing!

These are unprecedented times, where anxiety and worry is high. As Work for Wellness is one of our key initiatives this year, we feel it important to remind you that we are here for you. Therefore, we urge you to breathe – to refocus, to take stock and to really remember what we already know. We are in our roles, because we have great experience and passion for what we do. Guessing will not help.

At present, we know the following and we anticipate that these guidelines are maintained once opening unless government states otherwise:

• If in the work place – maintain a distance of 2metres between individuals where possible.
• This advice applies both to inside the workplace, and to where staff may need to interact with customers.
• Staff should be reminded to wash their hands regularly using soap and water for 20 seconds and particularly after blowing their nose, sneezing or coughing.
• Where facilities to wash hands are not available, hand sanitiser should be used.
• Workers should cover any coughs or sneezes with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue in a bin and immediately wash their hands

Practically, your operation could consider:

• Splitting staff into teams with alternate days working from home, or splitting across shifts
• As far as possible, where staff are split into teams, fixing these splits (cohorting), so that where contact is unavoidable, this happens between the same individuals
• Spreading out standard processes, so that only one team needs to be on the premises to complete a task at a given time
• Where it is possible to remain 2 metres apart, using signage such as floor markings to facilitate compliance, particularly in the most crowded areas. This includes entry points to buildings, toilets and communal break areas where queues may form

Now and possibly once open and operating:

Where possible, staff should be encouraged to bring their own food, and staff canteens and distributors should move to takeaway.

Where there are no practical alternatives, workplace canteens may remain open to provide food to staff with appropriate adjustments for social distancing. The following principles should be applied:

• Canteen staff who are unwell should not be at work
• Canteen staff should wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food
• Staff should be reminded to wash their hands regularly using soap and water for 20 seconds and before and after eating. If possible, increase the number of hand washing stations available
• A distance of 2 metres should be maintained between users, wherever possible
• Staff can continue to use rest areas if they apply the same social distancing measures
• Notices promoting hand hygiene and social distancing should be placed visibly in these areas
• Frequently clean and disinfect surfaces that are touched regularly, using your standard cleaning products
• Consider extending and staggering meal times to avoid crowding

PPE and Masks:

There is very little evidence of widespread benefit from the use of face masks outside of the clinical or care settings, where they play a very important role. To be effective, face masks must be worn correctly, changed frequently, removed properly, disposed of safely and used in combination with good universal hygiene behaviour. We have written to government to recognise this needs clarification prior to re-opening our operations.

Furlough

Employees as highlighted on the UK Government website can be furloughed as per guidance and terms. There is a 3 week minimum time period that people can be furloughed for. The scheme is set to run until end of June 2020 but may be extended. Employees can be moved in and out of furlough on a three week or longer basis.

All information correct at time of publishing and sourced from www.gov.uk

Please see below for links to‘back to work’ resources from other  industry organisations

BABTAC Back to Work Guidelines ... Read More

CIDESCO Standard Operating Procedures Covid-19 - Read More

SPA Guidelines Covid-19 by ESPA International - Read More

PWTAG Reopening a pool and disinfecting coronavirus guidance Read More & Further Read More

UKactive's four-stage strategy for reopening of the physical sector Read More

NHBF reopening guide  Read More