Coronavirus: working safely with contractors and on-site staff

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Anyone visiting your building to carry out maintenance must be able to wash their hands. Landlords can help.


Our clients and RMC directors may be wondering what they should do about people visiting their sites while we are all coping with the impact of COVID-19. So here?s our latest update on working with on-site staff and contractors.

The current advice from the HSE is that: ?All drivers attending site must have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their work.  Preventing access is against the law and, equally, it is not the sensible thing to do.  Failure to allow access to welfare facilities may increase the risk of the COVID-19 infection spreading.?

It is not clear whether contractors are classed in the same category as drivers ? however, we are beginning to receive requests for confirmation from maintenance engineers that there are hand washing facilities on site.  Where there are not, landlords should think about either nominating a home where contractors can wash up - and putting a notice up in the hallway to say so, or purchasing and installing something like this 

Site Staff will remain on site until the Government declares lockdown - at which point a further review will be carried out.  Employers have a duty under health and safety legislation to take steps to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all their employees, so far as reasonably practicable, including those who are particularly at risk for any reason. Employees also have a duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of people they work with.  So we have sent out specific advice to site staff. 

Should your site staff get sick, then by virtue of The Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 13 March 2020 ( for a period of 8 months) anyone who self-isolates to prevent infection or contamination with coronavirus and is unable to work will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay.  A medical certificate is no longer required and SSP now starts from day one, rather than day four.

Should the Government prevent staff from working on-site, this would be treated as a period of lay-off during which your employee would be entitled to a statutory guaranteed payment of £25 a day (pro-rata for part-time workers).  Unless the Government changes the law, your employees can claim a redundancy payment if the lay-off or short-time working runs for either 4+ weeks in a row, or 6+ weeks in a 13 week period.  This does not get paid if staff return to normal working hours within 4 months.  Click here for more on this.

Depending on other measures likely to be introduced, it may be kinder to ascertain the person?s rent or mortgage payments and pay them rent and a food allowance as a gesture for their service to the site.  If you need help or advice on this, emergency HR planning and payment enquiries are being dealt with by Leana leana@ringley.co.uk

In the meantime, all routine servicing schedules are continuing, as is our 24/7 emergency response.

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03/09/2020
Author : Mary-Anne Bowring

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