Guidance: Hotels and other guest accommodation

SOURCE: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/hotels-and-other-guest-accommodation

LAST UPDATED: 03.07.20

 

Guidance for people who work in or run hotels and other guest accommodation

Introduction

This document is to help employers, employees and the self-employed in England understand how to work as safely as possible and protect their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic while keeping to the recommended social distancing guidance applicable at the time.

Public health is devolved in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; this guidance should be considered alongside local public health and safety requirements and legislation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For advice to businesses in other parts of the UK please see guidance set by the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government. Tourism is also a devolved competency; as such, this guidance is meant to complement any guidance in the Devolved Administrations, where relevant.

If you have any feedback for us, please email [email protected].

How to use this guidance

This document sets out guidance on how to open hotels and other guest accommodation safely while minimising the risk of spreading COVID-19 . It gives practical considerations for how guidance can be applied in the workplace.

We know many people are also keen to return to or contribute to volunteering. Organisations have a duty of care to volunteers to ensure as far as reasonably practicable they are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. This guidance around working safely during COVID-19 should ensure that volunteers are afforded the same level of protection to their health and safety as others, such as workers and customers.

Each business will need to adapt this into the specific actions it needs to take, depending on the nature of their business, including the size and type of business, how it is organised, operated, managed and regulated. A site by site approach is essential and COVID-19 risk assessment for premises will be unique. Therefore this guidance should be used to translate to whatever areas are relevant to your business and any measures that are taken should fit safely with any operational needs.

This guidance does not supersede any legal obligations relating to health and safety, employment or equalities and it is important that as a business or an employer you continue to comply with your existing obligations, including those relating to individuals with protected characteristics. It contains non-statutory guidance to take into account when complying with these existing obligations. When considering how to apply this guidance, take into account agency workers, contractors and other people including guests, as well as your employees.

To help you decide which actions to take, you need to carry out an appropriate COVID-19 risk assessment, at a business and site level, just as you would for other health and safety related hazards. This risk assessment must be done in consultation with unions or workers.

In some instances hotels and other guest accommodation premises are let out to third party contractors and operators for specific usage. In such cases, whilst the premises remain under the direct control of the owner, the actual event or function is under the control of the event planner/organiser. In such instances both parties should carry out Risk Assessments and ensure that responsibility for safety management is clearly articulated and agreed.

What do we mean by ‘hotels and other guest accommodation’?

Hotels and other guest accommodation includes: income generating accommodation for example, hostels, motels, inns, pubs, student accommodation, holiday parks, B&B’s, short term serviced accommodation and similar letting, guest houses, caravans, boats including for holiday hire and hotels, sleeper trains, yurts, chalets, campsites and caravans.

If there are any additional facilities attached to the guest accommodation for example restaurants, bars, leisure facilities or retail shops please check that each individual facility is able to reopen under current government guidelines and refer to the relevant guidance.

1. Thinking about risk

In this section

Objective: That all employers carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment.

COVID-19 is a public health emergency. Everyone needs to assess and manage the risks of COVID-19, and in particular businesses should consider the risks to their workers, volunteers and customers. As an employer, you also have a legal responsibility to protect workers and others from risk to their health and safety. This means you need to think about the risks they face and do everything reasonably practicable to minimise them, recognising you cannot completely eliminate the risk of COVID-19.

You must make sure that the risk assessment for your business addresses the risks of COVID-19, using this guidance to inform your decisions and control measures. A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace and making a record of the significant findings. However, if you have fewer than five workers, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment. Your risk assessment will help you decide whether you have done everything you need to. There are interactive tools available to support you from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Employers have a duty to consult their people on health and safety. In a small business, you might choose to consult your workers directly. Larger businesses may consult through a health and safety representative, chosen by your employees or selected by a trade union. You can do this by listening and talking to them about the work and how you will manage risks from COVID-19. The people who do the work are often the best people to understand the risks in the workplace and will have a view on how to work safely. Involving them in making decisions shows that you take their health and safety seriously. You must consult with the health and safety representative selected by a recognised trade union or, if there isn’t one, a representative chosen by workers. As an employer, you cannot decide who the representative will be.

At its most effective, full involvement of your workers creates a culture where relationships between employers and workers are based on collaboration, trust and joint problem solving. As is normal practice, workers should be involved in assessing workplace risks and the development and review of workplace health and safety policies in partnership with the employer.

Employers and workers should always come together to resolve issues. If concerns still cannot be resolved, see below for further steps you can take.

Where the enforcing authority, such as the HSE or your local authority, identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks and risks to employees, they will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. For example, this would cover employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance, where possible. The actions the HSE can take include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements.

How to raise a concern if you are an employee:

First, speak to your employer.

  • contact your employee representative, if your workplace has one
  • contact your trade union if you have one
  • contact HSE at:

HSE COVID-19 enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6787 (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm)
Online: working safely enquiry form

1.1 Managing risk

Objective: To reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures, in order of priority

The owners of hotels and other guest accommodation have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures. Employers must work with any other employers or contractors sharing the workplace so that everybody’s health and safety is protected. In the context of COVID-19 this means protecting the health and safety of your workers, volunteers and customers by working through these steps in order:

  1. In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning.

  2. Businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to enable working from home as a first option. Where working from home is not practical, workplaces should make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government.

  3. 2m or 1m with risk mitigation (where 2m is not viable) are acceptable. You should consider and set out the mitigations you will introduce in your risk assessment.

  4. Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between individuals.

  5. Further mitigating actions include:

    –Increasing the frequency of hand washing or hand sanitising and surface cleaning (including disinfection of high footfall areas or common touchpoints and toilet/restrooms).
    – keeping the activity time of any activity where social distancing cannot be maintained as short as possible
    – using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
    – reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)
    – Using fixed screens or barriers to separate people from each other.

  6. Finally, if people must work face-to-face for a sustained period with more than a small group of fixed partners, then you will need to assess whether the activity can safely go ahead. No one should be forced to work in an unsafe work environment.

  7. In your assessment you should have particular regard to whether the people doing the work are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

  8. You should also consider the security implications of any changes you intend to make to your operations and practices in response to COVID-19, as any revisions may present new or altered security risks which may need mitigations.

The recommendations in the rest of this document are ones you must consider as you go through this process. You could also consider any advice that has been produced specifically for your sector, for example by trade associations or trades unions.

If you have not already done so, you should carry out an assessment of the risks posed by COVID-19 in your workplace as soon as possible. If you are currently operating, you are likely to have gone through a lot of this thinking already. We recommend that you use this document to identify any further improvements you should make.

You should consider the security implications of any changes you intend to make to your operations and practices in response to COVID-19, as any revisions may present new or altered security risks or issues with accessibility which may need mitigations. Sections 4 & 8 outline the key Security considerations and advice.

Whilst the risk to health from COVID-19 is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the threat of terrorism nonetheless remains substantial. It is essential that businesses and other organisations remain cognisant of these threats as they look to adjust their operations, ensuring that security measures are proactively adapted to support and complement other changes.

Where the enforcing authority, such as the HSE or your local authority, identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, they are empowered to take a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. For example, this would cover employers not taking appropriate action to ensure social distancing, where possible.

Failure to complete a risk assessment which takes account of COVID-19, or completing a risk assessment but failing to put in place sufficient measures to manage the risk of COVID-19, could constitute a breach of health and safety law. The actions the enforcing authority can take include the provision of specific advice to employers to support them to achieve the required standard, through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements. Serious breaches and failure to comply with enforcement notices can constitute a criminal offence, with serious fines and even imprisonment for up to two years. There is also a wider system of enforcement, which includes specific obligations and conditions for licensed premises.

Employers are expected to respond to any advice or notices issued by enforcing authorities rapidly and are required to do so within any timescales imposed by the enforcing authorities. The vast majority of employers are responsible and will join with the UK’s fight against COVID-19 by working with the government and their sector bodies to protect their workers and the public. However, inspectors are carrying out compliance checks nationwide to ensure that employers are taking the necessary steps.

1.2 Sharing the results of your risk assessment

You must share the results of your risk assessment with your workforce. If possible, you should consider publishing the results on your website (and we would expect all businesses with over 50 workers to do so).

We would expect all businesses to demonstrate to their workers and customers that they have properly assessed their risk and taken appropriate measures to mitigate this. You should do this by displaying a notification in a prominent place in your business and on your website, if you have one.

Below you will find a notice you should display in your workplace to show you have followed this guidance.

Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020

There may also be other industry standards or marks that you can use to demonstrate to any visitors, guests and customers that you have thought carefully about risk.

2. Keeping your customers, visitors and contractors safe

In this section

2.1 Different considerations for accommodation types

Objective: To ensure that different accommodation types consider the factors unique to them, which may impact consumer safety.

Current government guidance states that private rooms in all indoor accommodation with en suite showering facilities, or one designated shower facility per guest room, will be able to reopen. Shared toilet facilities can also be opened. If shared toilet and shower facilities are in the same room, guests are able to use the toilet but can only use the shower if it is assigned to one household or support bubble or run using a reservation and clean rota. Dormitory rooms will be closed (except where housing parties from the same household or support bubble), as will other indoor shared facilities (e.g. guest kitchens or TV rooms where social distancing cannot be observed). Outdoor accommodation (i.e. campsites) will be allowed to reopen shared showering facilities, as long as they are operated in the manner set out below.

While all accommodation providers should follow the guidance set out in the rest of this section, each accommodation type should seek to make changes which best mitigate the risks to consumer safety unique to their environment. These include the following:

2.1.1 Hotels

Fuller considerations for hotel operators are set out by UKHospitality, but particular consideration should be given to:

  1. Taking measures to make reception areas safer, with increased cleaning, keeping the activity time as short as possible and considering the addition of screens between guests and staff.

  2. Considering minimising lift usage from reception, and providing clear signage for new lift rules

  3. Where offering room service, taking measures such as dropping butler’s trays outside door, and encouraging tips to be added to the bill

  4. Ensuring that housekeeping staff follow government handwashing guidelines, and making a checklist of all hand contact services to be cleaned when each guests vacates.

  5. Encouraging guests to wear masks on communal corridors

  6. Checking the latest government guidance on opening of additional guest facilities (e.g. swimming pools, saunas).

  7. Ensuring that any bar or dining area is only opened in a way compliant with UK government guidance on the hospitality sector.

2.1.2 Hostels

Fuller considerations for hostel operators are set out by UKHospitality, but particular consideration should be given to ensuring that hostels operate within the current government guidance on social mixing outside of household groups by:

  1. Taking measures to make reception areas safer, with increased cleaning, keeping the activity time as short as possible and considering the addition of screens between guests and staff

  2. Considering minimising lift usage from reception, and providing clear signage for new lift rules

  3. Dormitory rooms will be closed (except where housing parties from the same household or support bubble).

  4. Closing other shared facilities:

    – communal kitchens, where guests prepare their own food
    – other communal areas (e.g. TV rooms) where social distancing can’t be managed within current government guidelines.

  5. Taking all possible steps to reduce the risk of transmission in shared shower, changing, and toilet facilities including:

    – Either shutting shared shower facilities or assigning them to one household group or support bubble, (i.e. making them private), or running a reservation and clean process (whereby one household can exclusively book the shared facilities for a fixed time, and the facilities are cleaned thoroughly between reservations).
    – Where toilets are shared, setting clear use and cleaning guidance to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social distancing is achieved as much as possible.
    – Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day, with particular regard to any shared facilities, considering the increased risk these entail - as set out in Section 5.3.
    – Making information available to guests on the increased risk of using these facilities.
    – Where possible increasing safe ventilation.

  6. Ensuring that housekeeping staff follow government handwashing guidelines, and making a checklist of all hand contact services to be cleaned when each guests vacates.

  7. Encouraging guests to wear masks on communal corridors.

  8. Ensuring that any bar or dining area is only opened in a way compliant with UK government guidance on the hospitality sector.

2.1.3 Bed & Breakfasts

Fuller considerations for Bed and Breakfast owners can be found via UKHospitality, but particular consideration should be given to:

  1. Taking measures to make reception areas safer, with increased cleaning, keeping the activity time as short as possible and considering the addition of screens between guests and staff.

  2. Where offering room service (e.g. breakfast in room), taking measures such as dropping butler’s trays outside door, and encouraging tips to be added to the bill.

  3. Ensuring that housekeeping staff follow government handwashing guidelines, and making a checklist of all hand contact services to be cleaned when each guests vacates.

  4. Encouraging guests to wear masks on communal corridors.

  5. Cleaning keys between guests.

  6. Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day, with particular regard to any shared facilities, considering the increased risk these entail - as set out in Section 5.3.

  7. Either shutting shared shower facilities or assigning them to one household group, (i.e. making them private), or running a reservation-and-clean process (whereby one household can exclusively book the shared facilities for a fixed time, and the facilities are cleaned thoroughly between reservations).

2.1.4 Self catering accommodation

This includes holiday apartments, homes, cottages, bungalows, boats including holiday hire, and serviced accommodation.

Fuller considerations for self catering accommodation providers are set by UKHospitality, but particular consideration should be given to:

  1. Taking measures to ensure the handover of keys to property can be done in a socially distanced way, ensuring that keys are cleaned.

  2. Ensuring that staff cleaning accommodation between stays follow full government handwashing guidelines, and make a comprehensive checklist of all hand contact services to be cleaned throughout the property when each guest vacates.

Operators of boats should:

  1. Apply appropriate social distancing measures, including during boat hand over.

  2. Clean boats between users.

  3. Set up and follow cleaning and waste removal routines after each hire for all handrails, indoor surfaces, and toilets or bathrooms.

2.1.5 Caravan parks and campsites

Fuller considerations for caravan parks and campsites are set out by UKHospitality, but particular consideration should be given to ensuring that such sites operate within the current government guidance on social mixing outside of household groups by:

  1. Taking measures to make any reception or office areas safer, with increased cleaning, keeping the activity time as short as possible and considering the addition of screens between guests and staff.

  2. Closing indoor shared facilities, including:

    – communal kitchens, where guests prepare their own food
    – other indoor communal areas where social distancing can’t be managed within current government guidelines

  3. Taking all possible steps to reduce the risk of transmission in shared shower, changing, and toilet facilities including:

    – Where possible assigning one group of washing and showering facilities to one household group
    – Where showers and toilets are shared, setting clear use and cleaning guidance to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social distancing is achieved as much as possible.

  4. Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day with particular regard to any shared facilities, considering the increased risk these entail - as set out in Section 5.3.

  5. Considering introducing a system of staggered entry and booked timeslots for using shower facilities.

  6. Making information available to guests on the increased risk of using these facilities.

  7. Where possible increasing safe ventilation.

  8. Ensuring that any bar or dining area is only opened in a way compliant with UK government guidance on the hospitality sector.

  9. Ensuring that indoor children’s play areas are closed, in line with wider Government guidance.

  10. Ensuring that shared facilities like water points, waste points or washing up points are cleaned regularly.

2.2 Manage contacts

Objective: To minimise the contact resulting from visits to hotels and guest accommodation.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Informing guests and contractors of guidance about visiting the premises prior to and at the point of arrival (including information on websites, on booking forms and in entrance ways).

  2. Managing outside queues to ensure they do not cause a risk to individuals or other businesses, for example by introducing queuing systems, using barriers and having staff direct guests.

  3. Working with neighbouring businesses and local authorities to consider how to spread the number of people arriving throughout the day, for example by staggering opening hours; this will help reduce demand on public transport at key times and avoid overcrowding.

  4. Encouraging guests to use hand sanitiser or handwashing facilities as they enter the premises and regularly during their stay as they move between areas in the facility.

  5. Taking measures to avoid crowded reception areas, such as staggering check-in and check-out times or placing markers on the floor to maintain social distancing.

  6. Determining if schedules for essential services and contractor visits can be revised to reduce interaction and overlap between people, for example, carrying out services at night.

  7. Making staff accessible to guests via phone, emails and guest apps.

  8. Encouraging contactless payments or pre-payments for rooms as part of the online booking, where possible, to limit cash payments for bills.

From 4 July, you should limit your social interactions to two households (your support bubble counts as one household) in any location; or, if outdoors, potentially up to six people from different households. It is against the law to gather in groups of up to more than 30 people, except for the limited circumstances as set out in law. In these specific cases, those operating venues should take additional steps to ensure the safety of the public and prevent large gatherings or mass events from taking place. At this time, venues should not permit indoor performances, including drama, comedy and music, to take place in front of a live audience.

Individual businesses or venues should consider the cumulative impact of many venues re-opening in a small area. This means working with local authorities, neighbouring businesses and travel operators to assess this risk and applying additional mitigations. These could include:

  • Further lowering capacity - even if it is possible to safely seat a number of people inside a venue, it may not be safe for them all to travel or enter that venue

  • Staggering entry times with other venues and taking steps to avoid queues building up in surrounding areas

  • Arranging one-way travel routes between transport hubs and venues

  • Advising patrons to avoid particular forms of transport or routes and to avoid crowded areas when in transit to the venue

Local authorities should avoid issuing licenses for events that could lead to larger gatherings forming and provide advice to businesses on how to manage events of this type. If appropriate, the Government has powers under schedule 22 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 to close venues hosting large gatherings or prohibit certain events (or types of event) from taking place.

Venues should not permit live performances, including drama, comedy and music, to take place in front of a live audience. This is important to mitigate the risks of droplets and aerosol transmission - from either the performer(s) or their audience. There will be further guidance setting out how performing arts activity can be managed safely in other settings, for instance rehearsing or broadcast without an audience.

There is an additional risk of infection in environments where you or others are singing, chanting, shouting or conversing loudly. This applies even if others are at a distance to you. You should therefore avoid environments that require you to raise your voice to communicate with anyone outside your household. All venues should ensure that steps are taken to avoid people needing to unduly raise their voices to each other. This includes - but is not limited to - refraining from playing music or broadcasts that may encourage shouting, including if played at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult. This is because of the potential for increased risk of transmission - particularly from aerosol and droplets transmission. We will develop further guidance, based on scientific evidence, to enable these activities as soon as possible. You should take similar steps to prevent other close contact activities - such as communal dancing.

Reconfiguring entertainment spaces to enable customers to be seated rather than standing. For example, repurposing dance floors for customer seating.

Making customers aware of, and encouraging compliance with, limits on gatherings. For example, on arrival or at booking. Indoor gatherings are limited to members of any two households (or support bubbles); while outdoor gatherings are limited to members of any two households (or support bubbles), or a group of at most six people from any number of households.

Larger banqueting and conference facilities that are on the premises should remain out of use for events, and banqueting services should not be offered. Where a premises delivers a mix of services, only those services that are permitted to be open should be available. For example, a hairdresser should ensure that beauty or nail treatments are not offered; and a community or leisure centre should not host indoor sports or fitness activity.

The opening up of the economy following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace. You should assist this service by keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for your business, and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks. Many businesses that take bookings already have systems for recording their customers and visitors – including restaurants, hotels, and hair salons. If you do not already do this, you should do so to help fight the virus. We will work with industry and relevant bodies to design this system in line with data protection legislation, and set out details shortly.

2.2.1 Selling food and drink

Objective: To manage interactions at the venue resulting from service of food and drink.

As well as the steps below, you should consider broader guidance on food preparation and service, as set out in the COVID-Secure Pubs and Restaurants guidance

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Asking customers to order room service over the telephone.

  2. Maintaining social distancing (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable) from customers when taking orders from customers.

  3. Using social distance markings to remind customers to maintain social distancing (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable) between customers of different households or support bubbles.

  4. Minimising customer self service of food, cutlery and condiments to reduce risk of transmission. For example, providing cutlery and condiments only when food is served.

  5. Encouraging contactless payments where possible and adjusting location of card readers to social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable)

  6. Providing only disposable condiments or cleaning non-disposable condiment containers after each use.

  7. Reducing the number of surfaces touched by both staff and customers. For example, asking customers to remain at a table where possible, or to not lean on counters when collecting takeaways.

  8. Ensuring all outdoor areas, with particular regard to covered areas, have sufficient ventilation. For example, increasing the open sides of a covered area.

  9. Adjusting service approaches to minimise staff contact with customers. Indoor table service must be used where possible, alongside further measures such as assigning a single staff member per table. Outdoor table service should also be encouraged. Where bar or counter service is unavoidable, preventing customers from remaining at the bar or counter after ordering.

  10. Adjusting processes to prevent customers from congregating at points of service. For example, having only staff collect and return empty glasses to the bar.

  11. Minimising contact between front of house workers and customers at points of service where appropriate. For example, using screens or tables at tills and counters to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable)

2.3 Providing and explaining available guidance

Objective: To make sure people understand what they need to do to maintain safety.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Providing clear guidance on social distancing to people both before arrival and on arrival, for example through signage, visual aids, on your website and in pre-arrival emails. Consider the particular needs of those with protected characteristics, such as people with visual impairments.

  2. Providing written or spoken communication of the latest guidelines to both workers and customers inside and outside the hotel or accommodation. You should display posters or information setting out how customers should behave at your venue to keep everyone safe.

  3. Reminding guests of social distancing guidelines during check-in.

  4. Using signage (for example, posters or leaflets on basic hygiene practices such as handwashing) in each room. This information could be available in different languages and communicated to guests ahead of their stay.

  5. Informing guests about preventative measures being taken and other services they may require, for example, medical and pharmacy services available in the area or in the establishment itself.

  6. Informing guests that they should be prepared to remove face coverings if asked to do so by police officers and staff for the purposes of identification.

2.3.1 Visitor economy guidance

Please refer to the separate Visitor Economy guidance for further information on indoor and outdoor attractions and business events.

UKHospitality is publishing guidance which includes hotels and accommodation, pubs and restaurants.

Bars, restaurants and catering: please refer to the Pubs and Restaurants guidance, which also has advice on catering. The British Beer and Pub Association can also provide further resources and information.

Holiday parks, touring parks and campsites, including Glamping - in addition to the UKHospitality guidance, which includes a chapter on these sectors, associations such as the National Caravan Council and the British Holiday and Home Parks Association have resources on their websites with advice and further information.

Self-catering accommodation, Bed and Breakfast and short term lets - in addition to this guidance, there is also UKHospitality guidance; Professional Association of Self Caterers; B&B Association; Short Term Accommodation Association and Country Land and Business Association all have further information available on their websites.

2.3.2 Business events

Business conferences, events, exhibitions and trade fairs are not currently allowed to take place in England. Given their importance to the accommodation sector, providers may want to consider the following areas of preparation, ahead of any future reopening.

The Meetings Industry Association has produced guidance specifically for conferences and meetings venues, which is also wrapped into the wider UKHospitality guidance.

The Association of Event Organisers has published guidance specifically for exhibition, trade fairs and consumer shows to reopen.

You should consider the relevant sections of workplace guidance published by BEIS as well as relevant guidance on Pubs and Restaurants and the UKHospitality guidance for catering requirements.

2.4 Overarching security considerations

Adapting to COVID-19 measures will inevitably result in changes to operating policies, processes and procedures of hotels, indoor, outdoor attractions and business event centres and venues. Any changes should always be considered alongside security implications. If you have a security department or manager, they should be consulted to help ensure good security is maintained as far as possible and that there are no unintended security consequences as a result of changes. This should be achieved by conducting a security risk assessment.

Specific examples of where security implications may arise are: queueing, search and screening (where this has been directed by a wider government policy on security), maintaining vigilance for potential threats, and access controls. There may be others that your organisation will need to consider.

2.4.1 Queues and social distancing

Whilst dense crowding is unlikely if social distancing is operating correctly, the revised layout of spaces may present new security risks, particularly where multiple queues are created.

Considerations include:

  • Operators should try and organise queuing within existing protected areas; Operators should NOT remove any security features or useful street furniture items without considering protective security in the round.
  • If queuing is only possible outside of protected areas then consider and mitigate the vulnerabilities by: routing queues behind permanent physical structures (e.g. street furniture, bollards, trolley parks and bike racks) to provide a visual deterrent and delay; closing off vehicle access to shared spaces; adjusting servicing and delivery times; reducing the opportunities for vehicles (including potentially hostile vehicles) to interact with pedestrians; erecting robust barriers; introducing a reduced speed limit or traffic calming measures.
  • Operators should be careful to avoid giving credible, detailed information that could help a hostile entity identify an attractive target and carry out an attack. In particular, this should not be included in detailed risk assessments published on public websites under Section 1.2. Be mindful of messaging, both at the site and particularly on-line, which covers detailed information about queue locations and times, the number of people expected, and suggesting removal of security features such as street furniture, bollards etc.

2.4.2 Search and screening

  • Conduct of physical search and screening of staff, contractors and visitors may need adapting in order to adhere to social distancing measures.
  • To maintain effective security and deterrence, search and screening should still be conducted as appropriate and in line with the organisation’s policies.
  • Ensure security staff are and feel safe. For example, having access to hand-washing facilities, and that they are able and confident to raise any concerns.
  • The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) has published guidance on adapting existing search and screening processes to take account of physical distancing. Details are also available from your local * Police Counter Terrorism Security Advisor (CTSA), which are available online.

2.4.3. Staff, security officers and stewarding

  • It is vital for staff to remain vigilant and act on potential security threats including terrorism and wider criminality. It is advised to:
  • Continue to ensure that awareness of security threats is raised alongside safety and health risks through staff briefings.
  • Whilst stewards and security officers may be focussed on managing people and queues for COVID-19 safety reasons, they should continue to remain vigilant for and report any suspicious activity as soon as possible.
  • Ideally consider providing separate stewarding to manage the social distancing and other safety aspects to enable your security staff to focus on their core responsibilities to keep the site safe from threats.
  • Ensure there is a good communication system in place to inform people of any incident. Carry out a short exercise or test to check procedures and equipment for this are working correctly.

2.4.4 Restricted entry points

  • Restricted access entry points, such as those facilitated by keypad, biometrics and/or pass should remain fully in operation. They should not be deactivated.

  • Pin pads and biometrics should be highlighted as “touch points” and cleaned regularly (note: generally, they are touched less than door handles)

  • Access control (staff) proximity cards will work up to 10cm from the reader. Staff can be informed that there is no need to physically touch the card on the reader.

3. Who should go to work?

In this section

Objective: People who can work from home should continue to do so. Employers should decide, in consultation with their employees, whether it is viable for them to continue working from home. Where it is decided that workers should come into their place of work then this will need to be reflected in the risk assessment and actions taken to manage the risks of transmission in line with this guidance. There is a recognition that for many workers in the visitor economy this will not be possible. Nobody should go to work if your business is closed under current government regulations except for certain specific exemptions.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Considering who is essential to be on the premises; for example, back of house workers should work from home if at all possible.

  2. Planning for the minimum number of people needed on site to operate safely and effectively.

  3. Monitoring the wellbeing of people who are working from home and helping them stay connected to the rest of the workforce, especially if the majority of their colleagues are on-site.

  4. Keeping in touch with off-site workers on their working arrangements including their welfare, mental and physical health and personal security.

  5. Providing equipment for people to work from home safely and effectively, for example, remote access to work systems.

3.1 Protecting people who are at higher risk

Objective: To protect clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals may be advised not to work outside the home if the prevalence of disease in the community is very high.

Clinically vulnerable individuals, who are at higher risk of severe illness (for example, people with some pre-existing conditions), have been asked to take extra care in observing social distancing and should be helped to work from home, either in their current role or in an alternative role.

If clinically vulnerable (but not extremely clinically vulnerable) individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to stay at the recommended distance away from others. If they have to spend time within this distance of others, you should carefully assess whether the activity should continue. If so, further mitigating actions should be taken to reduce the risk of transmission between individuals.

As for any workplace risk you must take into account specific duties to those with protected characteristics, including, for example, expectant mothers who are, as always, entitled to suspension on full pay if suitable roles cannot be found. Particular attention should also be paid to people who live with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Provide support for workers around mental health and wellbeing. This could include advice or telephone support.

  2. See current guidance for advice on who is in the clinically extremely vulnerable and clinically vulnerable groups.

3.2 People who need to self-isolate

Objective: To make sure individuals who are advised to stay at home to prevent the spread of infection under existing government guidance do not physically come to work. This includes individuals who have symptoms of COVID-19 as well as those who live in a household or are in a support bubble with someone who has symptoms and those who are advised to self-isolate as part of the government’s test and trace program.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Enabling workers to work from home while self-isolating if appropriate.

  2. See current guidance for employees and employers relating to statutory sick pay due to COVID-19.

  3. See current guidance for people who have symptoms and those who live with others who have symptoms.

3.3 Equality in the workplace

Objective: To make sure that nobody is discriminated against.

In applying this guidance, employers should be mindful of the particular needs of different groups of workers or individuals. For instance, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage compared to non-disabled people in the workplace.

It is breaking the law to discriminate, directly or indirectly, against anyone because of a protected characteristic such as age, ethnicity, sex or disability.

Employers also have particular responsibilities towards disabled workers and those who are new or expectant mothers.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Understanding and taking into account the particular circumstances of those with protected characteristics.

  2. Involving and communicating appropriately with workers whose protected characteristics might either expose them to a different degree of risk, or might make any steps you are thinking about inappropriate or challenging for them.

  3. Considering whether you need to put in place any particular measures or adjustments to take account of your duties under the equalities legislation, such as those who are hearing or visually impaired.

  4. Making reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage, and assessing the health and safety risks for new or expectant mothers.

  5. Understanding and responding to the concerns of those who consider themselves at increased risk.

  6. Making sure that the steps you take do not have an unjustifiable negative impact on some groups compared to others, for example, those with caring responsibilities or those with religious commitments.

4. Social distancing at work

In this section

Objective: To maintain appropriate social distancing between individuals when they are at their workstations.

You should maintain social distancing in the workplace wherever possible.

Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.

Mitigating actions include:

● Further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning, (including disinfecting of heavy footfall and frequent touch points)

● Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible

● Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible

● Reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)

● Using screens or barriers to separate people from each other

Social distancing applies to all parts of a premises where business is conducted, not just the place where people spend most of their time, but also entrances and exits, break rooms, staging sites and store rooms, canteens and similar settings. These are often the most challenging areas to maintain social distancing.

4.1 Coming to work and leaving work

Objective: To maintain social distancing wherever possible for workers, on arrival and departure and to enable handwashing upon arrival.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Assessing the appropriate maximum occupancy given the size and configuration of the operation, and ensuring that booking systems and processes are configured to manage accordingly.

  2. Staggering arrival and departure times at work to reduce crowding into and out of the workplace, taking account of the impact on those with protected characteristics. M

  3. Providing additional parking or facilities such as bike-racks to help people walk, run, or cycle to work where possible.

  4. Limiting passengers in corporate vehicles, for example, work minibuses. This could include leaving seats empty.

  5. Reducing congestion, for example, by having more entry points to the workplace.

  6. Using markings and introducing one-way flow at entry and exit points which are back of house or employee only and, where appropriate, taking into account premises structure, style of operation and customer profile.

  7. Providing handwashing facilities (or hand sanitiser where not possible) for workers at entry and exit points.

  8. Providing alternatives to touch-based security devices such as keypads.

  9. Providing storage for staff clothes and bags.

  10. Requesting staff change into work uniforms on site using appropriate facilities/changing areas, where social distancing and hygiene guidelines can be met.

  11. Washing uniforms on site rather than by individual staff members at home.

  12. Reviewing government guidance on travelling to and from work.

4.2 Moving around buildings

Objective: To maintain social distancing as far as possible while people travel through the workplace.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Reducing movement by discouraging non-essential trips within buildings and sites, for example, restricting access to some areas, encouraging use of radios or telephones, where permitted. These items require cleaning between users if multi-use.

  2. Reducing job and location rotation, for example, assigning workers to specific floors or keeping temporary personnel dedicated to one site.

  3. Introducing more one-way flow through buildings. Providing floor markings (where appropriate) and signage should remind both workers and customers to follow to social distancing wherever possible.

  4. Reducing maximum occupancy for lifts, providing hand sanitiser for the operation of lifts and encouraging use of stairs wherever possible.

  5. Making sure that people with disabilities are able to access lifts while socially distancing.

  6. Ensuring any changes to entries, exit and queue management take into account reasonable adjustments for those who need them, including disabled customers. For example, maintaining pedestrian and parking access for disabled customers.

  7. Regulating use of high traffic areas including corridors, lifts, turnstiles and walkways to maintain social distancing, and increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfection of these areas.

  8. Managing use of high traffic areas (including corridors, lifts and staircases) to maintain social distancing. For example, asking guests and staff to walk on the left, to give priority to those ascending stairs, or indicating ‘passing points’ where the walkway is widest.

  9. Managing spacing between outdoor accommodation, such as tents and caravans, to enable social distancing for workers and customers.

4.3 Workplaces and workstations

Objective: To maintain appropriate social distancing between individuals when they are at their workstations.

For people who work in one place, workstations should be reconfigured to allow them to maintain social distancing wherever possible.

Workstations should be assigned to an individual as much as possible. If they need to be shared, they should be shared by the smallest possible number of people whilst maintaining social distancing.

If it is not possible to keep workstations at the recommended distance apart then businesses should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and if so, take all mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Reviewing layouts to allow workers to work further apart from each other.

  2. Using floor tape or paint to mark areas, where appropriate, to help people keep to the recommended distance, or using signage or other communication measures taking into account building characteristics, trading style and customer profile.

  3. Avoiding people working face-to-face. For example, by working side-by-side or facing away from each other.

  4. Using fixed screens to create a physical barrier between people.

  5. Only where it is not possible to move workstations further apart, using screens to separate people from each other, for example, considering areas such as reception and guest services.

  6. Managing check in and check out times to enable staff to conduct cleaning and refreshing accommodation that may take longer under safer working conditions.

  7. Communicating to customers the times when housekeeping, cleaning and similar activities are underway to encourage them to leave spaces free for staff to operate.

  8. Using a consistent pairing system if people have to work in close proximity. For example, cleaning hotel rooms.

  9. Minimising contacts around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments and encouraging online booking and pre-payment, where appropriate.

4.4 Workplace meetings

Objective: To reduce transmission due to face-to-face meetings and maintain social distancing in meetings.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Using remote working tools to avoid in person meetings.

  2. Only absolutely necessary participants should attend meetings and should maintain social distancing guidance throughout.

  3. Avoiding the potential for transmission of COVID-19 during meetings, for example avoiding sharing pens and other objects.

  4. Providing hand sanitiser in meeting rooms.

  5. Ensure that meeting rooms are cleaned between users.

  6. Holding meetings outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms whenever possible.

  7. For areas where regular meetings take place, use floor signage to help people maintain social distancing.

4.5 Common areas for staff

Objective: To maintain social distancing while using common areas.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Staggering break times to reduce pressure on the staff break rooms or places to eat.

  2. Using safe outside areas for breaks.

  3. Creating additional space by using other parts of the working area or building that have been freed up by remote working.

  4. Installing screens to protect workers in receptions or similar areas.

  5. Providing packaged meals or similar to avoid fully opening staff canteens.

  6. Reconfiguring seating and tables to optimise spacing and reduce face-to-face interactions.

  7. Encouraging workers to remain on-site and, when not possible, maintaining social distancing while off-site.

  8. Considering the use of social distance marking for staff and guest common areas such as toilets, showers, and changing rooms. Additional more frequent cleaning protocols should be applied to these facilities.

  9. Considering alternative options to serve guests, such as a ‘grab and go’ service or room service.

4.6 Accidents, security and other incidents

Objective: To prioritise safety during incidents.

In an emergency, for example, an accident, provision of first aid, fire or break-in, people should not have to stay the recommended distance apart if it would be unsafe.

People involved in the provision of assistance to others should pay particular attention to cleaning measures immediately afterwards including washing hands.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Reviewing your incident and emergency procedures to ensure they reflect the social distancing principles as far as possible.

5. Cleaning the building or site for consumers

In this section

5.1 Before reopening

Objective: To make sure that any site or location that has been closed or partially operated is clean and ready to restart, including:

  • an assessment for all sites, or parts of sites, that have been closed, before restarting work
  • cleaning procedures and providing hand sanitiser, before restarting work

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Checking whether you need to service or adjust ventilation systems, for example, so that they do not automatically reduce ventilation levels due to lower than normal occupancy levels.

  2. Most air conditioning systems do not need adjustment, however where systems serve multiple buildings, or you are unsure, advice should be sought from your heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers or advisers.

  3. Opening windows and doors frequently to encourage ventilation, where possible.

5.2 Keeping the site clean

Objective: To keep the workplace clean and prevent transmission by touching contaminated surfaces.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. More frequent cleaning of work areas, indoor and outdoor accommodation, toilet facilities and equipment between uses, using your usual cleaning products.

  2. More frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly (including door handles, lift buttons or switches) and making sure there are adequate disposal arrangements for cleaning products.

  3. Maintaining good ventilation in the work environment. For example, opening windows and doors frequently, where possible.

  4. Wedging doors open, where appropriate, to reduce touchpoints. This does not apply to fire doors.

  5. Accommodation providers should consider how they would manage a situation with an unwell guest, including whether symptomatic guests in self-isolation would be responsible for cleaning their own rooms and stripping/making their own beds.

s5.Accommodation providers should consider how best to inform guests about their policy for COVID-symptomatic guests, for example during the booking or check-in process.

  1. Where an accommodation provider has a COVID-symptomatic guest, they should agree next steps with the guest at the earliest opportunity, ensuring no onward risk of infection to other guests or workers.

  2. Considering removal of items that are likely to be regularly touched by lots of different people, for example shared newspapers.

  3. Considering increased surface cleaning for confined accommodation such as tents or caravans and leaving longer periods between usage by different guests.

If you are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then you refer to the specific guidance.

5.2.1 Housekeeping for consumers

Objective: To provide high level considerations to maintain the cleanliness of rooms.

Specific housekeeping guidance:

  1. Consider the ability to perform housekeeping, whilst maintaining social distancing, if the guest is in the room they should be requested to leave the room, unless they are self-isolating.

  2. When cleaning a room, focus on cleaning of all hand contact surfaces in rooms. This could include, but is not limited to, light switches; bedside tables; remote controls; taps; flush handles and toilet seats; door handles – inside and out; hair dryer handles; iron and ironing board, trouser press; safe buttons; wardrobe doors; mini bar handle; kettle handle and lid; heater and/or air conditioner controls.

  3. Considering removal of items from the room that are not likely to be needed by guests.

  4. Glasses and crockery should be removed and washed between guests.

  5. Towels and linens should be washed in accordance with washing instructions. The frequency of the cycle of cleaning and in-room services should be reviewed to take into account different lengths of stay.

UKHospitality has further guidance on cleaning in hotel and other guest accommodation environment.

More guidance can be found in cleaning of non healthcare settings.

5.2.1 Kitchen and food service areas cleaning

Objective: To ensure the highest hygiene standards are operated in kitchen areas

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Following government guidance on cleaning food preparation and food service areas.

  2. Recognising that cleaning measures are already stringent in kitchen areas, consider the need for additional cleaning measures.

  3. Having bins for the collection of used towels and staff overalls.

  4. Asking workers to wash hands before handling plates and takeaway boxes.

  5. Continuing high frequency of hand washing throughout the day.

5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets for consumers

Objective: To help everyone keep good hygiene through the working day.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely and hands washed after binning, or sneeze into your arm if a tissue is not available.

  2. Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain hygiene standards.

  3. Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.

  4. Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social distancing is achieved as much as possible.

  5. Enhancing cleaning for busy areas and common touch points.

  6. Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets.

  7. Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.

  8. Providing hand drying facilities.

  9. Encouraging staggered use of washroom facilities wherever possible.

  10. It is recommended that any ventilation or air conditioning system that normally runs with a recirculation mode should now be set up to run on full outside air where this is possible.

In the case of shared shower and kitchen facilities these should be managed and cleaned with particular care. These should only be open in outdoor settings (i.e. on campsites). Shared shower and kitchen facilities within hostels or bed and breakfasts should either be shut, or made private (such as by specifically assigning them to one household, or running a reservation-and-clean process).

Additional steps that will be needed:

  1. Making information available to guests on the increased risk of using these facilities.

  2. Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for showers, lockers and changing rooms to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social distancing is achieved as much as possible.

  3. Introducing enhanced cleaning of these facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day.

  4. Where possible assigning one group of washing and showering facilities to one household group.

  5. Considering introducing a system of staggered entry and booked timeslots for using shower facilities.

5.3.1 Toilets

Objective: To ensure that toilets are kept open and to ensure/promote good hygiene, social distancing, and cleanliness in toilet facilities.

Public toilets, portable toilets and toilets inside premises should be kept open and carefully managed to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.

  2. Consider the use of social distancing marking in areas where queues normally form, and the adoption of a limited entry approach, with one in, one out (whilst avoiding the creation of additional bottlenecks).

  3. To enable good hand hygiene consider making hand sanitiser available on entry to toilets where safe and practical, and ensure suitable handwashing facilities including running water and liquid soap and suitable options for drying (either paper towels or hand driers) are available.

  4. Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage. Use normal cleaning products, paying attention to frequently hand touched surfaces, and consider use of disposable cloths or paper roll to clean all hard surfaces.

  5. Keep the facilities well ventilated, for example by fixing doors open where appropriate.

  6. Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets and larger toilet blocks.

  7. Putting up a visible cleaning schedule can keep it up to date and visible.

  8. Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.

5.4 Handling goods, merchandise and other materials

Objective: To reduce transmission through contact with objects in the visitor economy.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Cleaning procedures for goods and merchandise entering the site.

  2. Cleaning procedures for the parts of shared equipment you touch after each use, thinking about equipment, tools and vehicles.

  3. Encouraging increased handwashing and introducing more handwashing facilities for workers handling goods and merchandise, or providing hand sanitiser where this is not practical.

  4. Regular cleaning of vehicles that workers may take home.

  5. Enhanced handling procedures of laundry to prevent potential contamination of surrounding surfaces, to prevent raising dust or dispersing the virus.

6. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings

PPE protects the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory protective equipment, such as face masks.

Where you are already using PPE in your work activity to protect against non-COVID-19 risks, you should continue to do so.

At the start of this document we described the steps you should take to manage COVID-19 risk in the workplace. This includes working from home and staying at the recommended distance away from each other in the workplace if at all possible. When managing the risk of COVID-19, additional PPE beyond what you usually wear is not beneficial. This is because COVID-19 is a different type of risk to the risks you normally face in a workplace, and needs to be managed through social distancing, hygiene and fixed teams or partnering, not through the use of PPE.

The exception is clinical settings, like a hospital, or a small handful of other roles for which Public Health England advises use of PPE, for example, first responders and immigration enforcement officers. If you are in one of these groups you should refer to the advice at:

Workplaces should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect against COVID-19 outside clinical settings or when responding to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.

Unless you are in a situation where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is very high, your risk assessment should reflect the fact that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited. However, if your risk assessment does show that PPE is required, then you should provide this PPE free of charge to workers who need it. Any PPE provided should fit properly.

More information on PPE and face coverings.

7. Workforce management

In this section

7.1 Shift patterns and working groups

Objective: To change the way work is organised to create distinct groups and reduce the number of contacts each worker has.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. As far as possible, where workers are split into teams or shift groups, fixing these teams or shift groups so that where contact is unavoidable, this happens between the same people.

  2. Identifying areas where people have to directly pass things to each other and finding ways to remove direct contact such as by using drop-off points or transfer zones.

  3. Considering where congestion caused by people flow and ‘pinch points’ can be improved. Using one-way systems, staggered shifts and assigned staff mealtimes are possible ways to minimise the risk of transmission.

  4. You should assist the Test and Trace service by keeping a temporary record of your staff shift patterns for 21 days and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for the data if needed. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks.

7.2 Work-related travel

7.2.1 Cars, accommodation and visits

Objective: To avoid unnecessary work travel and keep people safe when they do need to travel between locations.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Avoid using public transport, and aim to walk, cycle, or drive instead. If using public transport is necessary, wearing a face covering is mandatory, unless you are exempt for health, disability or other reasons.

  2. Minimising the number of people outside your household or support bubble travelling together in any one vehicle, using fixed travel partners (e.g. always travelling with the same people), increasing ventilation when possible and avoiding sitting face-to-face.

  3. Cleaning shared vehicles between shifts or on handover.

  4. Where workers are required to stay away from their home, centrally logging the stay and confirming that any overnight accommodation meets social distancing guidelines.

7.2.2 Deliveries to other sites

Objective: To help workers delivering to other sites such as factories, logistics sites or customers’ premises to maintain social distancing and hygiene practices.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Putting in place procedures to minimise person-to-person contact during deliveries to other sites.

  2. Maintaining consistent pairing where two-person deliveries are required.

  3. Minimising contact during payments and exchange of documentation, for example by using electronic payment methods and electronically signed and exchanged documents.

7.3 Communications and training

7.3.1 Returning to work

Objective: To make sure all workers understand COVID-19 related safety procedures.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Providing clear, consistent and regular communication to improve understanding and consistency of ways of working.

  2. Engaging with workers and worker representatives through existing communication routes to explain and agree any changes in working arrangements.

  3. Developing communication and training materials for workers prior to returning to site, especially around new procedures for arrival at work.

7.3.2 Ongoing communications and signage

Objective: To make sure all workers are kept up to date with how safety measures are being implemented or updated.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Ongoing engagement with workers (including through trade unions or employee representative groups) to monitor and understand any unforeseen impacts of changes to working environments.

  2. Awareness and focus on the importance of mental health at times of uncertainty. The government has published guidance on the mental health and wellbeing aspects of coronavirus (COVID-19).

  3. Using simple, clear messaging to explain guidelines using images and clear language, with consideration of groups for which English may not be their first language and those with protected characteristics such as visual impairments

  4. Using visual communications, for example whiteboards or signage, to explain changes to production schedules, breakdowns or materials shortages to reduce the need for face-to-face communications.

  5. Communicating approaches and operational procedures to suppliers, customers or trade bodies to help their adoption and to share experience.

  6. For hotels, holding at the reception desk the latest advice regarding COVID-19 measures (from the government website) and telephone numbers of key contacts should a member of staff or guest become ill.

  7. For hotels and other accommodation, providing guidance to staff as to how they should regularly communicate guidance to guests to ensure consistent messaging and responses.

8. Inbound and outbound goods

Objective: To maintain social distancing and avoid surface transmission when goods enter and leave the site, especially in high volume situations, for example, distribution centres or despatch areas.

Steps that will usually be needed:

  1. Adjusting the way things are brought into the building and put away to create space for social distancing.

  2. Using non-contact deliveries where the nature of the product allows for use of electronic pre-booking.

  3. Creating one-way flow of traffic in stockrooms.

  4. Revising pick-up and drop-off collection points, procedures, signage and markings.

  5. Adjusting put-away and replenishment rules to create space for social distancing. Where social distancing cannot be maintained due to workplace design, sufficient mitigation strategies should be designed and implemented.

  6. Minimising unnecessary contact at gatehouse security, yard and warehouse. For example, non-contact deliveries where the nature of the product allows for use of electronic pre-booking.

  7. Considering methods to reduce frequency of deliveries, for example by ordering larger quantities less often.

  8. Where possible and safe, having single workers load or unload vehicles.

  9. Where possible, using the same pairs of people for loads where more than one is needed.

  10. Enabling drivers to access welfare facilities when required, consistent with other guidance.

  11. Encouraging drivers to stay in their vehicles where this does not compromise their safety and existing safe working practice.

Where to obtain further guidance

This document has been prepared by the Department for Digital, Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) with input from members of the Visitor Economy Working Group; UKHospitality; VisitBritain; UKInbound; Association of Leading Visitor Attractions; Association of Event Organisers; the Meetings Industry Association, the Events Industry Board; Country Land and Business Association; trades unions and the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Further guidance

Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)- The visitor economy

UKHospitality

National Caravan Council, British Homes and Holiday Parks Association and the Caravan and Motorhome Club have resources on their websites with advice and further information

Professional Association of Self Caterers, B&B Association, Short Term Accommodation Association and Country Land and Business Association all have further information available on their websites.

Business events

The AEO’s e-guide

The Purple Guide produced by the Events Industry Forum

The MIA’s AIM accreditation programme

Meetings Industry Association and Association of Event Organisers

General guidance

COVID-19: What you need to do

Support for businesses and employers during coronavirus (COVID-19)

General guidance for employees during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) advice:

All COVID-19 security advice

Advice on protecting queues from hostile vehicles

Advice on access control systems

Advice on security guarding

Advice on hostile reconnaissance

COVID-19 workplace actions campaign (messaging about distancing and hygiene)

National Counter Terrorism Security Office advice

General Security advice

Crowded Places Guidance

Appendix

Definitions

Common areas
Refers to areas and amenities which are provided for the common use of more than one person including canteens, reception areas, meeting rooms, areas of worship, toilets, gardens, fire escapes, kitchens, fitness facilities, store rooms, laundry facilities.

Clinically extremely vulnerable people
Refers to people who have specific underlying health conditions that make them extremely vulnerable to severe illness if they contract COVID-19. Clinically extremely vulnerable people will have received a letter telling them they are in this group, or will have been told by their GP. Who is ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’?

Clinically vulnerable people
Refers to people who may be at increased risk from COVID-19, including those aged 70 or over and those with some underlying health conditions. Who is ‘clinically vulnerable’?

Support Bubble
The term ‘support bubble’ refers to single adult households, where adults live alone or with dependent children only, expanding their support network so that it includes one other household of any size. Further guidance on meeting people from outside your household. 

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