Making your business Covid secure

See Gov.uk: Coronavirus - how to stay safe and help prevent the spread.

To ensure your business is Covid secure follow these simple steps: 

• Risk assessment
• Ventilation
• Cleaning
• Hand hygiene
• Turn people away who have Covid symptoms
• Encourage safe behaviours
• Communication

Remember: if you, or a member of staff, feels unwell with any Coronavirus symptoms (or a member of the household is unwell with symptoms), you must follow government guidance to stay at home and arrange to have a test.

Complete a risk assessment

Complete a risk assessment and include the risk from Coronavirus. If you employ five or more staff then this should be documented in the assessment. Share it with your staff and keep it updated.

Good ventilation

You should make sure there is adequate fresh air to your indoor spaces. Open windows, doors and vents or use fans and mechanical ventilation, or a combination of both. Identify poorly ventilated spaces and take steps to improve air flow. A C02 monitor may help.

Clean premises

Clean surfaces that people touch, especially where shared. 

Hand Hygiene

Remind staff and customers to wash and sanitise their hands regularly. Provide hand washing facilities with running water and soap or hand sanitiser where a sink is unavailable. Think about people getting in and out of vehicles and making deliveries and have hand sanitiser available. 

Posters and signs are a good idea to remind staff and customers about the importance of clean hands and catching germs after a cough or sneeze.

Turn away people with COVID symptoms

Staff should be encouraged to stay at home if they have COVID symptoms, even if they are vaccinated.

Encourage safe behaviours

People are no longer legally required to wear face coverings but encourage and support those that wish to. 

Vaccination

Encourage vaccinations and boosters for staff when offered.

Good communication

Keep staff, visitors and customers informed of measures you are taking to keep them safe from COVID and encourage their compliance.

Venues are no longer legally required to check the COVID status of staff and customers but you can choose to use a COVID pass if you wish.

Guidance and further information

Council

• Covid-19 support for businesses - includes the latest updates, grant schemes and business rates relief
• Retail support
• Coronavirus (Covid-19) checklist for businesses (PDF, 278.1kb)

Government

• Gov.uk: working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Gov.uk: Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) - 5 steps to working safely
• Gov.uk: Coronavirus (COVID-19) safer public places - urban centres and green spaces
• Gov.uk: COVID-19: cleaning of non-healthcare settings
• Gov.uk: COVID-19: early outbreak management
• Gov.uk: How to wear and make a cloth face covering
• Gov.uk: Coronavirus outbreak FAQs - what you can and can't do
• Gov.uk: Guidance Maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace

Other

• HSE has produced guidance to help you work safely (be Covid-secure) and manage the risk associated with running your business at this time. It includes practical measures you can take, for example putting in place social distancing measures, staggering shifts, providing additional hand washing facilities and how to talk with workers to help them stay safe. HSE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest information and advice.

Downloadable posters and resources

• Gov.uk: Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020
• Public Health England: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Centre
• Catch it, Bin it, Kill it poster
• Polite Notice (PDF, 302.3kb)