Adapting your office for safe working during the COVID-19 outbreak

The good news is that it seems that the lockdown restrictions are slowly starting to ease. This means, however, that businesses are now under pressure to comply with the UK Government’s guidelines on hygiene and social distancing in the workplace.  These guidelines include conducting a coronavirus health and safety audit if you employ more than five people in your business, increasing the frequency that your business is cleaned, and encouraging employees to work back-to-back. 

Employers need to take legal responsibility for their employee’s health and safety— and with changes staying in place the rest of the year — the team at worXmart have come up with some tips for how to adapt your office to help with safe working.

Getting back to work

A lot of businesses are struggling with where to start with the guidance available and how to effectively implement the changes they’re being asked to make. We’re on the road back to the “new normal” but it has never been more important for us to ensure we’re sticking to social distancing measures in order for us to trade successfully and improve the UK’s economy in the future.

Many businesses are simply unable to sustain themselves while their employees are forced to work from home. What changes need to be made, therefore, to ensure employees can return to the workplace successfully?

• Hygiene precautions. Steps need to be taken to ensure all available hygiene precautions are taken and become commonplace in the workplace. WorXmart offers you a wide range of hand sanitising units which are easy to install and can help in the reduction of the spread of infection
• Office spacing. You also need to take into account the spacing between employees, to ensure that no—one is closer than 2 metres. Desks should be safely divided and protective screens used wherever possible.
• Cleaning procedures. Deep cleaning will need to become standard procedure, with regular disinfecting of communal areas taking place. High touch zones such as door handles, chairs, desks and bathrooms should be wiped down frequently throughout the day with antibacterial cleaner.

Quick actions to help make your office safer

Some of the actions that need to be taken to make the office safer, will need a bit of thought and planning. There are some actions that can be taken quickly — including:

• The removal of furniture made with absorbent materials
• Replacement of absorbent furniture, with office furniture that’s easy to wipe down
• Installation of hand sanitising units
• Installation of perspex screens between desks
• Move all seating to be 2 metres apart
• Decluttering of personal workspaces

WorXmart has many products available that can help you to not only protect your employees and customers but also minimise downtime and prevent financial risk to your business through closure.

To find out more about how worXmart can support you in the day-to-day running of your business, please call us on 0333 234 2344 or email us on info@worxmart.co.uk.