welcome back

 

As a collective we are all slowly coming back to reality post the peak of covid. Although the light is starting to appear at the end of the tunnel, we must follow guidelines to keep the risk to ourselves and our fellow colleagues to a minimum.  Here at polkadotfrog we are slowly coming back into the office and Daisy ‘the bosses’ daughter has made us some lovely posters to keep our office environment safe.  If you would like to download, print and use Daisy’s posters, see bellow.

preparing to go back to the office can be very daunting however here are our top tips for return:

 

thinking about the risk.

As an employer you must carry out a covid19 risk assessment.  A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace. If you have fewer than 5 workers, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment. Your risk assessment will simply help you decide whether you have done everything you need to. To find out more on risk assessment and how to follow procedure correctly take a look at the government website – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/offices-and-contact-centres 

social distancing in the workplace.

The main objective of social distancing around the office is to stay 2m away from fellow colleagues and social distancing wherever possible, including while arriving at and departing from work, while in work, and when travelling between sites. 

Points which will help to enforce the 2m distancing around the office/site…

• Reducing movement by discouraging non-essential trips within buildings and sites, for example, restricting access to some areas, encouraging use of radios or telephones, where permitted, and cleaning them between use.
• Restricting access between different areas of a building or site.
• Reducing job and location rotation.
• Introducing more one-way flow through buildings.
• Reducing maximum occupancy for lifts, providing hand sanitiser for the operation of lifts and encouraging use of stairs wherever possible.
• Regulating use of high traffic areas including corridors, lifts turnstiles and walkways to maintain social distancing.

another issue that you may face while being in the office is common areas and spacing in these areas these bullet points should find useful…

• Working collaboratively with landlords and other tenants in multi-tenant sites/buildings to ensure consistency across common areas, for example, receptions, staircases.
• Staggering break times to reduce pressure on break rooms or canteens.
• Using safe outside areas for breaks.
• Creating additional space by using other parts of the workplace or building that have been freed up by remote working.
• Installing screens to protect staff in receptions or similar areas.
• Providing packaged meals or similar to avoid fully opening staff canteens.
• Encouraging workers to bring their own food.
• Reconfiguring seating and tables to maintain spacing and reduce face-to-face interactions.
• Encouraging staff to remain on-site and, when not possible, maintaining social distancing while off-site.
• Regulating use of locker rooms, changing areas and other facility areas to reduce concurrent usage.
• Encouraging storage of personal items and clothing in personal storage spaces, for example, lockers and during shifts.

We have also created some posters to put up around the office which will help with the control of distancing and sanitisation around the workplace reminding everyone to follow procedure to stop the spread. You are able to open the files and download them ready to print to go up in your office.

https://www.polkadotfrog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/maintaintwometres.png

https://www.polkadotfrog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/onlyonepersoninthekitchen.png

https://www.polkadotfrog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/washhandsonentry.png

the objective is to help make sure that everyone has good hygiene and maintains that throughout the day. To help this happen here are a few of our tips…

• Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase hand washing frequency, avoid touching your face and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.
• Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain personal hygiene standards.
• Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.
• Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social distancing is achieved as much as possible.
• Enhancing cleaning for busy areas.
• Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.
• Providing hand drying facilities – paper towels in preference to hand driers

Stay safe everyone and we hope you all enjoy your return back to work!