Member Blog: Surviving the Covid-19 Risk Assessment Process

As a trickle of people begin to return to workplaces, we’re all needing to ensure we’re COVID-Secure.

We’ve got three articles in this newsletter to help you with this; firstly, Where to Start. Second, our Top 8 RedCat Tips to make it happen.

Lastly, a testimonal.

1. So, where to start?

• There’s some great Government guidance here, but it’s a little generic and needs adapting to your business. Your output here is a section of your Health and Safety Policy, with your rules and procedures to prevent infection spread.
• Next, we demostrate satisfactory levels of control through the Risk Assessment. The Health and Safety Executive in Northern Ireland have published a risk assessment template here, again helpful but it is generic and requires some work to be truly valid for your business.

2. Our top 8 tips in developing these;

1. Don’t think this is a new or extra legal duty; you’ve already got a Policy and Risk Assessments, and COVID risk assessment is the same as any other risk assessment.
2. Consulting your employees is a legal requirement, so don’t skip this part of the process.
3. People are genuinely concerned for their health, and need to be assured. The Policy and Assessments need to be comprehensive and relevant to their work.
4. Steal an idea from food factories; think of the flow of people and functions in your work place and follow this. It will help identify at which points the risks are greatest. So, start at the front door…….
5. Dig out your copy of our last Newsletter, covering the Legionnaire’s Disease risks in the water systems that need to be dealt  with before a mothballed building is brought back into use.
6. Be realistic about how many people you can safely have within your premises
7. Provide visual prompts to ensure compliance at all times, not just first thing in the morning
8. The guidance has been criticised for being vague. So, do what you feel is the right thing. If its not safe to open stay closed. If you’re happy to, then adapt to remain safe.

​No Wherewithall?

We’ve been working on this since January. We’ve absorbed, digested and applied the Guidance, and we’ve developed and used some of our own templates.

In short, we’re here to help you if you need us. You know where we are!

3. A Client gave us a fantastic Google Review last week following our COVID19 work with them; “Are you a business owner concerned about Covid 19? Speak to Richard and Sarah at Red Cat Partnership. I now have the confidence to carry on safely thanks to an extensive overhaul of my safety practices and risk assessments etc. Invaluable support from one of the most professional and on-the-ball companies you could hope to do business with.”