COVID-19 EMPLOYEE PROTECTION POLICY

Policy brief and purpose 

This company policy includes the measures we are actively taking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, coronavirus. To sustain a healthy and safe workplace in this unique environment all employees are required to follow all these rules diligently. It’s important that we all respond responsibly and transparently to these health precautions. We assure you that we will always treat your private health and personal data with high confidentiality and sensitivity and in accordance with GDPR.

This coronavirus (COVID-19) company policy is susceptible to changes with the introduction of additional governmental guidelines. If so, we will update you as soon as possible by email.

 

Scope

This coronavirus policy applies to all of our employees both onsite (who physically work in our offices) and offsite when interacting with customers. We strongly recommend to our remote working personnel to read through this action plan as well, to ensure we collectively and uniformly respond to this challenge.

 

Policy elements

Here, we outline the required actions employees should take to protect themselves and their co-workers from a potential coronavirus infection.

Office based employee’s guidelines

Procedures

• All staff should sanitise their hands upon entering the office each morning, then they should sanitise their workstation thoroughly.
• All staff should wash their hands regularly using soap and water for 20 seconds where possible (that is where hand washing facilities are in the same part of the building), particularly when encountering foreign objects such as after deliveries of any parcels into the office. If not, then hand sanitiser should be used after handling any foreign objects.
• To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or cough/ sneeze into your sleeve (not your hands) if you don’t have a tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately. Then wash your hands or use a hand sanitising gel.
• Desks should be kept as clear as possible of any unnecessary clutter, all regularly touched items (telephones, mobile phones, keyboards and mice) should be cleaned and disinfected at the end of each day using an appropriate anti-bacterial wipe.
• Shared office facilities such as printer, light-switches and kettle must be wiped using antibacterial wipes daily with wipes being disposed of in the bin provided immediately.
• It is recommended that all cups, glasses, plates and cutlery where possible are reused by the same individual.
• Digital and remote transfers of materials should be used where possible rather than paper format, such as using electronic formats, for example, emails with attachments.
• Any headsets or telephones should not be shared, calls should be transferred, where this not be possible call backs must be arranged.
• Door handles should be sanitised using anti-bacterial wipes daily.
• Any internal office doors should be kept open where possible along with windows when the weather is clement.
• It is advisable that lunches are brought with you, should you need to go out of the office for lunch, government guidelines of social distancing should be adhered to, along with cleaning your hands thoroughly through washing, hand sanitising gel or antibacterial wipes when you re-enter the office.
• Should you utilise public transport to travel to from or during work, social distancing should be adhered to and you should wear a mask, along with cleaning your hands thoroughly through washing, hand sanitising gel or antibacterial wipes when you get to the office
• Avoid transfer of equipment from one person to another where possible, for example stationary.

Sales Representatives & Field Management 

Procedures

• Do a lateral flow test before any accompanied visits or team sales meetings
• All staff should wash their hands regularly using soap and water for 20 seconds, upon entering any building. Avoid contact with any foreign objects or communal objects where possible, where this is impossible use the hand sanitising gel provided afterwards. You should keep hand sanitising gel on your person at all times.
• To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, or your sleeve (not your hands) if you don’t have a tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately. Then wash your hands or use a hand sanitising gel.
• Field representatives will need to sanitise all equipment taken to site (laptops phones, marketing materials etc) prior to entering premises using antibacterial wipes.
• Field representatives will need to wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds upon leaving site, if this is not possible then field representatives must use the hand sanitising gel provided.
• Field representatives will need to sanitise all equipment taken to site (laptops phones, marketing materials) once having left the premises using antibacterial wipes.
• Field representatives will be required to wear masks on site upon customer request.
• Door handles, steering wheels, gear sticks and brake handle must be wiped daily using an antibacterial wipe before and after use on any shared vehicles.
• Avoid transfer of equipment from one person to another where possible, for example stationary.
• When using a demonstration kit, we will request customers was their hands prior to use and all items of the demonstration kit must be wiped down with antibacterial wipes afterwards.
• It is advisable that lunches are brought with you, should you need to go out of the office for lunch, government guidelines of social distancing should be adhered to, along with cleaning your hands thoroughly through washing, hand sanitising gel or antibacterial wipes after opening packaging and before eating and then again, after eating.
• When refuelling, always use the gloves provided at the petrol stations.
• All field representatives will be expected to adhere to all Almas Industries related COVID-19 company policy guidelines and any additional policy requests from the customer in order to attend site

Procedure should you experience symptoms or have been in contact with somebody with symptoms of COVID-19

Staying off work if positive Covid-19 diagnosis

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) Omicron variant are recent onset of:

1. Runny Nose
2. Headache
3. Fatigue (either mild or severe)
4. Sneezing
5. Sore throat
6. Loss of taste/ smell
7. Cough
8. You may feel sad or low

 

In line with the UK government guidelines the following will apply for UK employees;

If you have a confirmed Covid-19 positive diagnosis, then as per the NHS website:

• On the 6^th day take a lateral flow test – if it’s negative, you’re nearly free…
• On the 7^th day take a lateral flow test – if it’s negative, you can end your isolation!
• You need two days’ consecutive lateral flow test between days 6-10 to end your isolation early.
• Even if you test positive on the 10^th day, you are still ok to end your isolation, provided you don’t still have severe symptoms or a fever.

 

Had contact with known COVID-19 infected individual

In the event you have learned that you have become in close contact with a diagnosed or suspected case of COVID-19, (that is within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes in an enclosed space) you must self-isolate at home for a full 10 days unless you are fully vaccinated. If you are vaccinated then you can ‘test to release’ on a daily basis, by completing a lateral flow test, this must be negative. See most recent training document on Breathe for further details

 

 

Return to work following symptoms of COVID-19

In line with the UK government guidelines the following will apply for UK employees;

If you have a confirmed Covid positive diagnosis, then after the 10 days have expired as per the NHS website you can return to work with the possibility to end isolation earlier if you have negative lateral flow tests on Days 6 onwards.

 

• Testing is now readily available and free. We would expect that any employee exhibiting potential symptoms obtain a test within 24hrs of getting possible covid symptoms. If you receive a negative result, you may return to work as soon as you feel well enough to do so.
• Please note: no employee will be allowed to return to work until they have completed the employee declaration and if early release, provided evidence of a negative lateral flow test.
• Upon returning to work a return to work form and interview with your line manager will be completed for any absence longer than 7 days.
• COVID-19 related absences will be exempt from your Bradford Factor calculations. The only possible exemption to this is if multiple periods of absence are noted due to COVID-19 symptoms or multiple periods of self-isolation which may indicate that the individual is not adhering to the Covid policy or social distancing rules; this will be assessed on a case by case scenario.

Escalation process 

If you do not feel that you have been given adequate PPE to do your job or that others in your office are not adhering to the policy making you feel uncomfortable, then please advise your line manager. If you are asked to work on a site and you do not fail safe to do so, please contact your line manager. If your line manager does not resolve the situation then please escalate to Julia Maxton Close via phone or via email to [email protected].