Page 17 - August 2020 Inform (H-F200)

HR
Update
RETURNING TO THE OFFICE
We are looking forward to a phased return to our office environments in September, which is subject to government guidance and also school and childcare arrangements. The health and wellbeing of our employees remains paramount to our planning process.
RETURNING TO THE OFFICE
CONTACT TRACK & TRACE PROCESS
As lockdown restrictions ease, we need to take steps to protect ourselves, our families and our communities to successfully limit the spread of the virus. In line with COVID-19 control procedures,
we have developed safeguards to ensure the effective recording and management of employees experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. We have already implemented a successful contact track and trace process within the Group for our manufacturing sites and this will be rolled out to all sites we phase in our return to the workplace from September, subject to government guidance.
What is Contact Tracing?
Contact tracing is a tried and tested method of controlling the spread of infectious diseases. It helps understand how the virus is passing from person to person and in addition it will help us prevent this from happening and reduce the risk of transmission. With the expansion of nationwide testing for those employees displaying symptoms, we are now able to understand the COVID-19 status of our employees in a quick and reliable way.
This allows us to effectively track and trace contact within the workplace for those who may have been in close, prolonged proximity to those who test positive for COVID-19. In this event we will contact any employee that has been in prolonged proximity and ask them to self-isolate and get tested.
We all need to ensure we minimise the risk to others by isolating immediately if we display any of the symptoms - fever, high temperature, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, cough and loss of taste or smell. Those affected employees should also avail of a test which are widely available across the UK and Ireland and means that self-isolation may not be necessary if the test is negative.
Equally important is that we continue to follow government guidelines on handwashing and social distancing, not only in the workplace, but also in our personal lives.
All sites are currently in the process of completing health & safety assessments and working through a number of associated actions. We have set up staff consultation forums to discuss the assessment recommendations and our approach to phasing people back. As always, we are keen to hear feedback and suggestions from you and your colleagues.
Establishing a return to office plan has been a top priority, but we understand that there may be some mixed emotions about a phased return to the office. We have developed a range of protocols to protect everyone and this information will be visible across our office sites. We will continue to communicate with you over the coming weeks through your team representatives, line manager briefings, newsletters and emailers, as we work towards a phased return in September and share with you your plans in detail.
In addition, we will be running a series of induction sessions to update you on the office
changes and we also continue to provide information &
resources on the Larder.
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