establishing health and safety compliance protocols.

Once you’ve created a health and safety plan defining health and safety protocols to protect your employees, you need to ensure workers comply with the new measures. To reduce the risks presented by COVID-19, your employees must understand all of the new measures you are putting in place and how their work will be affected. Creating a plan to explain the new protective measures and provide training is critical. Some considerations for building your compliance program are listed below.

general best practices

• Clear all your protocols with guidelines from local authorities.
• Establish fair protocols and governance. Your return to work plan must be enforceable. If mandatory rules are not followed, you must have a fair and consistent protocol to follow.
• Establish COVID-19 Ambassadors for each of your work sites. These employees will monitor compliance and support their colleagues in following COVID-19 protocols.
• Maintain a list of workers who are on-site and update it daily. If someone tests positive for COVID-19, it will be easier to identify who was on site and eliminate risk of additional workers being exposed.
• Avoid unnecessary outings and business travel to minimize exposure.

providing personal protective equipment

• Wearing a mask is highly recommended but not mandatory.
• Employees whose work requires them to work in close proximity with others should be given priority for protective equipment.

checking employee health

• Complete online self-assessment questionnaire before starting workday. This is a good non-invasive way to minimize the spread of the virus.
• Measure body temperature at building entry.  
• Conduct random visual and temperature checks during workday. 
• Perform random checks in all departments to make sure they respect the measures.

what to do if an employee shows symptoms of COVID-19

• Create an investigation protocol. Have a crystal clear policy for responding to an employee who shows signs or symptoms of being infected with COVID-19. Conduct testing in suspicious cases. If a positive case is identified, immediately conduct an investigation and take prompt action to ensure the safety of others in your workplace.
• Clearly reiterate your sick leave policy to all employees. Make sure your sick leave policy is up-to-date. Ensure that employees understand the policy and have access to key documents and information.
• Determine quarantine protocols. If an employee has COVID-19, how long will they need to quarantine for? When and how will you inform other employees? When will the sick employee be cleared to return?
• Report cases of COVID-19 to relevant health authorities.
• Establish a communication plan for how and when to communicate positive cases of COVID-19 with your employees.
• Prepare a plan for what you’ll do in the event an entire department or group of workers is affected.
• Determine your back to work protocol for employees who have previously tested positive for COVID-19.

Randstad prepared these resources to share best practices to get back to work safely. The information in this document is intended as a guideline only. Please do additional research and consult with experts before making decisions for your business.