Weekly Digest: COVID-19 Health and Safety at Work Advice and Guidance

This bulletin was provided to us from the HSE.

This week's digest contains the latest advice and guidance on protecting workers from coronavirus (COVID-19) and links to the latest government advice now national lockdown rules have been applied.

There are also links to new rules and procedures that must be followed now that the UK has left the EU, details of recent enforcement activity, links to online health and safety training courses, and HSE's latest job vacancies.

For all the latest updates visit our website.

Working safely during the coronavirus pandemic

With coronavirus rates rising rapidly across the UK, national lockdown rules have been introduced.

See the GOV.UK advice on how national lockdown rules apply in England.

Find out what the rules are in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

HSE has a range of guidance and advice, which you may find useful to protect people from the risk of COVID-19, whether they can still attend work or are working from home.

Our guidance on working safely during the coronavirus pandemic includes practical measures you can take that to ensure your workplace is COVID-secure.

It includes information on:

• social distancing
• ventilation and air conditioning
• cleaning, hygiene and handwashing

For all the latest information and advice visit our coronavirus site.

Updated advice on protecting clinically extremely vulnerable workers

Employers should consider the risk to workers who are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19) and put controls in place to reduce that risk.

Our page on how to protect vulnerable workers during the pandemic has been updated to reflect the new national restrictions. From 5 January the government says that anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable should not attend work and should only work from home, as coronavirus cases are rising rapidly across the country.

You can find guidance on who is clinically extremely vulnerable and what further support may be available from Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and Public Health Wales.

Our page on protecting vulnerable workers during the pandemic also includes advice on:

• supporting workers in higher-risk groups
• accessing COVID-secure precautions
• pregnant workers