Government have announced five phases towards recovery. Each phase provides guidance on government policy on how we can return to economic activity and return to your place of work. The government has called on organisations to develop plans for the return to onsite working for employees, in light of COVID-19.
The State will develop a mechanism for supporting, advising on, assessing, regulating and planning for the return to on-site working by organisations. The NSAI have developed standards that will help your organisation prepare for ensuring safety within the workplace. Check out current guidance https://www.nsai.ie/covid-19workplaceprotection/
The following should be considered:
· Social distancing compliance
· Hygiene and cleaning
· Compliance in higher risk situations
· Plans for medically vulnerable / pregnant individuals
· Extended opening hours to enable social distancing
· Considering shift work and staggered hours
· Maintain % of employees to continue to work remotely where possible
On top of the current permitted work arrangements in place for essential workers, government have issued a guide on how economic activity will be phased in.
Government have provided a Business Continuity Voucher that is available from your Local Enterprise Office. It is designed for businesses across every sector that employ up to 50 people. The voucher is worth up to €2,500 in third party consultancy costs and can be used by companies and sole traders to develop short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other supports currently available for business can be found here or in our earlier blog post https://dbei.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Supports-for-SMEs/COVID-19-supports/Government-supports-to-COVID-19-impacted-businesses.html
Stay safe and healthy from @Element78 team