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Concerns have been raised about employees being forced to go to non-Covid-compliant workplaces during the lockdown.
Between January 6 and 14, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received 2,945 complaints about safety issues.
The UK trade union leader called on ministers to crack down on employers “who break Covid safety rules.”
The HSE said it had stepped up its work to monitor and support businesses during the pandemic.
The Observer reports that no company has been prosecuted and fined for breaking coronavirus workplace safety rules since the start of the last nationwide lockdown in England, although a spokesperson HSE said enforcement action figures, which may include verbal advice or a written warning, cannot be verified until Monday.
She added that her inspectors “continue to be on the move, putting employers in place and checking that they are complying with health and safety legislation.”
The HSE has introduced ad hoc phone checks in response to the coronavirus crisis, she said.
“We continue to increase the number of calls and spot check visits we make so that we can reach as many businesses as possible during the current lockdown period.”
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If the government steps up enforcement, ministers should start with employers who break Covid safety rules.”
She also called for an increase in resources for the HSE “to prevent rogue employers from putting staff at risk. Every employer should know that an inspection can take place at any time.”
The HSE made more than 32,300 site visits during the pandemic.
The government should also make it clear that anyone who can work from home should do so, Ms. O’Grady added.
What are the rules for working?
Under the current foreclosure restrictions, people across the UK who can work effectively from home should do so. They should only come to their workplace if they cannot do their work remotely.
This includes healthcare professionals, teachers, child care providers, transportation workers, people who work in construction or manufacturing, funeral directors, and essential retail workers.
For workplaces that remain open in England, employers must “perform an appropriate Covid-19 risk assessment” to develop a “specific” strategy to stop the spread of the virus.
In England, guidelines set out strict measures that employers must follow, such as reducing the number of unnecessary visits to the office, frequent cleaning of workspaces and ensuring that staff observe social estrangement wherever possible. 2 m (6 ft).
There are similar guidelines for employers in various sectors in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Learn more about our Explainers team here.
A government spokesperson said: “The law clearly states that people can only leave their homes to work if they cannot reasonably work from home.
“We have worked with unions, businesses and medical experts to produce comprehensive Covid safety advice so that companies allowed to remain open can do so as safe as possible for workers and customers. understanding of the virus is growing. “
A recent investigation by the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) also suggests that some staff members have faced pressure to return to the workplace despite a recent positive coronavirus test.
Of the 1,172 UK workers surveyed, four in 10 said they had worked within 10 days of a positive result.
More than 10% of respondents also said they had been ordered on site when they could have worked “easily” and “safely” from home.
‘It’s really demoralizing’
Brian (not his real name), works cleaning portable toilets at construction sites in the South East of England.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live he did not feel safe, but felt “obligated to continue working so that I could pay my bills”.
At the site where he works most of the time, he hasn’t seen a “large amount of masks” and says he was made to laugh for wearing his mask and visor.
“It’s really demoralizing because you’re making fun of your job anyway.
He says the situation is “50% worse” than when construction sites were closed during England’s first national lockdown.
Due to his concerns and those of his wife, he asked if he could be put on leave, but his cabinet said he would only be eligible for statutory sick pay.
“Morale is on the ground,” he says.
Alan Lockey, head of RSA’s future work program, suggested that workers “feel compelled to put themselves and others at risk from the virus” because of precarious work and pressure from bosses.
He also called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to end the “trade-off between health and food on the table” by allowing self-isolated workers access to the government leave program and maintaining the £ 20 increase per universal credit week, which is due to expire in April.
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