After being in lockdown, following months of stay-at-home orders, many British businesses are gradually starting to reopen. Are you an employer who’s relieved that your business has finally reopened after the Covid-19 lockdown? Maybe you’re an employee who’s excited about getting back to work but are worried about your workplace being unsafe from the virus. Here are seven safety precautions for returning to work after lockdown, including the importance of using a professional cleaning company.

1. PROVIDE TRAINING  

Before reopening your business to employees and customers, provide the proper training in which you establish basic safety guidelines. For example, make it a rule that everyone wears a clean face mask. Tell your employees to always carry alcohol-based hand sanitisers with them. Have your workers wear garments they can easily wash when they return home. Moreover, continue to reinforce the importance of washing hands frequently and avoid touching the face.

2. SANITISE COMMON AREAS

One of your primary responsibilities for keeping your workplace safe is sanitising the entrance and reception area of your office, along with every other place where people gather and work. Common touchable areas include those, such as door-knobs and handles, washroom faucets, floor space, AC remotes and other spots. Assign members of your staff, on a rotation basis, who can oversee that touchable spaces are properly disinfected.

3. DON’T SHARE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

It’s extremely critical that your employees avoid sharing tools and equipment at your workplace. However, if this is not an option, you’ll need to ensure that shared devices that are frequently touched are thoroughly sanitised between uses. Another option is having your employees wear disposable gloves when using shared tools and equipment.

4. ENFORCE SOCIAL DISTANCING

Of course, you probably know by now the importance of social distancing and how this helps in slowing the spread of diseases. However, instead of keeping at least two metres  apart, since early July, people in England have been advised to stay even further apart  as an additional 1 metre has been added.

Limit the number of people at face-to-face meetings. Be sure to main proper social distancing when communicating with your staff and employees. As an alternative, you could use Zoom meetings.

5. REARRANGE DESKS

If the desks in your workplace are too close, you’ll need to space them out so that social distancing is maintained among your workers. If this isn’t possible, then consider having more than one shift so that you can restrict the number of workers for each shift.

6. CONSIDER CHANGING WORK HOURS

One of main ways to avoid contracting Covid-19 is to avoid crowds. Thus, if most of your employees take buses or subways to work, you may want to think about adjusting your work hours. That’s why it’s a good idea to choose a time for getting to work when the traffic would be the lowest.

7. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL CLEANING SERVICE

To be sure that your workplace is clean and completely germ-free, invest in a professional cleaning service. Keep in mind how a deep-cleaning job done by a professional, can keep your employees healthier, while reducing the spread of viruses. Another consideration is that viruses can remain present on some types of hard surfaces for as long as 72 hours if they stay unchecked and are not disinfected.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND WARNINGS

• Make sure your staff members are able to travel to your workplace.
• Tell your employees not to wear metallic watches, jewellery or other accessories that can carry the virus.
• Provide disposable wipes for both your employees and customers for wiping down surfaces.
• Put up posters stressing the importance of staying home when feeling sick, in addition to the basics of hand hygiene and social distancing.
• Have temperature checks. Using an electronic thermometer, take the temperature of your employees, customers or anyone else who enters your workplace.
• Check your first-aid facilities and arrangements, making sure they’re adequate
• Limit the number of times that people can enter and exit your workplace.
• Designate a single entryway and exit point.

 Once you’ve safely prepared your workplace, you can confidently reopen your business. For more information on how our exceptional deep-cleaning professional services can get your workplace safe for reopening, contact us.