Employers are being encouraged to take a sympathetic view to employees returning to the workplace, now that virtually all restrictions in England have been lifted.
With no social distancing
and no more mandatory mask wearing, firms are having to consider how to bring
employees back to the workplace safely.
The UK Government said the high uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination has meant
the risk of catching and transmitting the virus has decreased, and the return
to offices has been encouraged.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said: “We don’t expect that the whole country will
return to their desk as one, but we anticipate a gradual return to the
workplace over the rest of the summer.”
Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development (CIPD), a professional association for human resource management
professionals, said employers should
follow Government recommendations for a gradual return to workplaces for those
who have been working from home or furloughed.
He said: “Employers’ duty of care to all staff should be at the heart of their
plans if they are making changes following the end of restrictions.
“This means organisations continuing to risk assess and take measures to
protect their workers from COVID-19 such as steps to minimise contact between
staff or with customers to manage COVID-19 risk in the workplace.”
Mr Willmott advised employers to use lessons learned from the pandemic,
applying flexibility to support and manage the workforce during this transition
phase and beyond.
For example, he said: “Provide flexi-time where possible so people can commute
at different times and continue the shift to more home and hybrid ways of
working.
“It’s important to recognise that many people might be anxious or worried about
returning to their workplace and employers should support their mental
wellbeing by ensuring line managers provide flexibility, support and
understanding where people have concerns.”
Usdaw, the union for retail workers, has advised that 85 per cent of shop
workers have experienced verbal abuse and nine per cent were assaulted during
the pandemic.
Many public-facing businesses will have to assess whether wearing facemasks is mandatory, discretionary, or prohibited based on the health and safety risk assessment of their workforce.
They will also need to
take account of the views of their workforce and the impact such decisions will
have on their business and clientele.
Tony Prevost, director at e-learning and support provider Skillsoft, said that
if employers want to ensure their entire staff is vaccinated and wants to
include a vaccination clause in an employment contract, that could create a
minefield of problems for HR teams.
He said: “As employers turn their attention to getting employees back into the
office, mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations present a minefield of compliance and
discrimination issues.
“Employers are now in uncharted territory and contracting with employees based
on their medical history may have far reaching consequences. This issue is much
more complex than ‘no jab, no job’.”
HR teams’ number one priority is to make sure the working environment is safe
for everyone, Mr Prevost added.
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