What does easing lockdown mean for charities in practice?

With lockdown set to ease and people being encouraged back to work (where they can do so safely), organisations of all kinds face yet more new challenges as a result of Covid-19. 

How should they go about reopening workplaces safely and, when permitted, readmitting customers to their premises?

The government has published a myriad of guidance for different contexts (construction and other outdoor work; factories, plants and warehouses; labs and research facilities; offices and contact centres; other’s homes; takeaway or delivery; retail; vehicles and transport).  

Many charities will need to comply with multiple requirements as well as overarching principles such as:

• maintaining two-metre distancing as far as is practicable and what to do if you can’t

• risk assessments

• continued compliance with equalities and health and safety law

• special care and respect for those most at risk or self-isolating

• minimising visitors

• respecting that no-one can be made to work in an unsafe environment.

There’s a lot to take in and for most the ‘new normal’ will be very different to the situation before lockdown; as we said in our previous blog, some practices developed during lockdown should be sustained because they work (sometimes better than previous practice).

Worryingly there is no clarity on employers’ potential liabilities making the choices facing Trustees even more challenging. Our advice is to take time to consider all the implications carefully, including spending time to think trough what unintended consequences there may be as a result of new working practices.

Those new working practices will need to take account of both the physical environment and the policies and procedures required. Questions to consider include:

• What personal support (for physical or mental health and well-being do you staff and volunteers need (or want) to enable them to feel confident returning to work?

• Can your working and ancillary spaces be reconfigured to support two metres separation?

• Do you need to introduce physical changes to the flow and operation of office space? For example:

  • How many people can each space physically accomodate while maintaining distancing?

  • Are your ventilation systems adequate?

  • Does a particular space or piece of equipment need to be subject to pre-booking with additional cleaning/sanitisation between use?

  • Does a one-way system need to be introduced to ensure social distancing in busy areas?

  • Will extra signage or markers on carpets and walkways be needed to support distancing?

  • Can you set up sanitiser stations and/or more hand-washing areas (particularly between different working/ancillary areas?

  • Do you need to require use of PPE or physical barriers for some activities?

  • Should staff work back-to-back rather than face-to-face?

  • Can start and finish times for staff be staggered and can you support people to avoid public transport?

  • How can you minimise the number of people onsite using rotas etc. and by sustaining virtual practices adopted during lockdown?

  • Can you provide an isolation area for people who become ill while at work and do first-aiders need Covid-19 training?

  • Can a ‘clear desk’ policy and safe arrangements for storaging personal belongings be introduced to ease cleaning?

• Should staff be required to bring their own food and drink, including mugs, boxes, plates etc, to avoid the transmission? Can antiseptic wipes be made available to wipe kettles, fridge doors, milk bottles, taps etc between use?

• Do existing policies and procedures reflect the changing work practices? For example:

  • health and safety 

  • sickness absence 

  • childcare and caring responsibilities

  • safeguarding 

  • data protection 

  • digital security

  • hot-desking

  • bereavement leave

  • risk management

• Do you need to instigate new or altered monitoring and oversight arrangements? For example:

  • For reporting a serious incident to the Charity Commission? 

  • To avoid fraud?

  • To ensure the organisation remains financially solvent? 

  • To detect and deal with data security breaches etc?

Maintaining open and honest communication across the organisations, treating people with respect, listening to their needs and concerns and supporting people to maintain well-being will be critical to the success of any restart plan. People must come first, without them you have nothing anyway.

If you would welcome a conversation about any of the reflections in this blog please do contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk.