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Covid risk assessment

Assessment carried out by Schofield Sweeney

Date assessment carried out: 01 June 2020

What are the hazards?Who might be harmed & how?What are you already doing to control the risks?What further action do you need to take to control the risks?When is the action needed by?Date completed.
Very high risk & high risk staff.This group of staff remain at high risk and need to be protected.Staff have been asked to identify if they or a member of their household are in this group.Where possible this group of stand will be advised to continue to work at home.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Number of staff in offices.If all staff return to the offices then social distancing will be a challenge.Staff are currently working from home.Staff to be split into two teams – Team A & Team B. Staff in both teams will continue to work from home whilst it is possible to do so. Team A and B will have designated days when they are permitted to attend the office if they find it necessary. 01/06/202024/06/2020
Staff will be permitted to flex their start and finish times to avoid rush hour on transport as well as avoiding arriving in the officer at the same time.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Entrance areas hand washing.Staff and visitors will need the ability to clean their hands when entering the officer to help reduce the risk of transmission. Bottles of hand sanitiser are available on reception counters and in open plan work areas.Acquire and fit wall mounted sanitiser dispensers at entry points to the offices. These will be located on the internal side of doors on accessing all floors.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Create and affix posters to remind staff and visitors to sanitise their hands when entering the offices and regularly In the day.01/07/202016/06/2020
Where possible and safe to do so, doors will be propped open during the days to reduce touch points.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Toilets.Need to ensure sufficient and suitable hand washing facilities available for staff and the ability to dry hands with paper towels to minimise the risk of transmission.All toilet areas have individual soil dispensers. All toilets at the offices except Brand gents toilets have paper towel dispensers. Acquire and fit paper towel dispensers for the three gents toilets in Bradford together with waste paper baskets.01/07/202016/06/2020
Ensure appropriate signage in toilets about hand washing.01/07/202016/06/2020
Staff should take care when using toilets as these are confined spaces so should be made aware to maintain social distancing. 01/07/202016/06/2020
Lifts & stairs.These are confined spaces and have a large number of touch points (buttons).

The buttons (in the cabin and lobby area) represent transmission points for subsequent users.

The confined space means If in use by multiple persons there is a transmission risk. 		Extra cleaning has been arranged which will include the lifts and lift buttons both morning and evening. Staff and visitors should be discouraged from using the lifts where possible. 01/07/2020 16/06/2020
If the lift must be used for deliveries suggest that goods go in the lift but people walk up the stairs.01/07/202016/06/2020
If someone must use the lift, where possible they should be alone.01/07/202016/06/2020
On the stairs staff will need to take extra care to maintain social distancing. Signage will be helpful.01/07/202001/07/2020
Remove Cutlery from kitchens for the time being.01/07/202016/06/2020
Kitchen areas.Kitchen areas present a number of challenges in terms of space restrictions as well as transmission via used crockery and utensils. Kitchens are currently cleaned each evening and it has been arranged for them to be cleaned late morning as well. Fruit baskets have been paused for the time being and staff have been asked not to bring cakes and other food to share for birthdays. Staff to be advised that no more than one person at once should use each kitchen. 01/07/2020 16/06/2020
If staff bring in packed lunches they should bring in their own cutlery. 01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Staff should wash their own crockery and cutlery after use and not leave it in the sink for others.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Comms need to be designed and displayed to explain these steps in the kitchens.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Extra cleaning will take place each day in these areas.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Staff should not make drinks for others to avoid the risk of transmission.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Staff should use their own mug or glass for drinks which they make. These should be cleaned at the end of each day and stored at their own desks. 01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Milk sachets to be provided in kitchens in place of milk bottles to reduce common touch points. Also tea and coffee single serve portions and wooden stirrers. 01/07/2020 27/05/2020
AntiBacterial wipes will be made available in the kitchen areas for staff to clean down common touch points before use. 01/07/2020 27/05/2020
Reception areas.This is a potentially a high footfall area with client visitors as well as deliveries, leading to numerous transmission opportunities.Increased cleaning has been arranged. Staff have been asked to avoid client meetings in person where possible. Staff have been previously asked not to move around the offices where possible.Arrange perspex screens on reception desks to minimise risk of transmission between reception staff and visitors. 01/07/2020 24/06/2020
Ensure all visitors to the office provide full contact details to reception in case there is a need to.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Reception staff should complete visitor details in visitor books to avoid sharing of pens.Ongoing.Ongoing.
In the Bradford reception, the entry phone needs to be duplicated so that it is not shared by reception staff.01/07/2020 22/05/2020
Extra cleaning will take place each day in these areas.Ongoing.Ongoing.
To minimise traffic in these areas staff should not arrange for personal deliveries to be made to the office (e.g. Amazon).Ongoing.Ongoing.
Where business related deliveries are made, consideration should be made to these being left in office lobbies for collection by staff to reduce others coming into reception areas. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Stationery rooms.These are confined spaces.

The confined space means if in use by multiple persons there is a transmission risk. 		No action taken at present.Staff should only enter the room individually. There should be no reason why it would be necessary for multiple people to be in the room at one point. A poster will be necessary on the door. 16/06/2020 16/06/2020
Post rooms – franking machines. Confined spaces and a common touch point in the franking machine.No action taken at present.As with other confined spaces they should be used by only one person at once.Ongoing.Ongoing.
The franking machine should be cleaned with an anti-bacterial wipe both before and after use.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Arrange for disposable gloves to be available near franking machines for those dealing with the post. 01/07/2020 22/05/2020
Meeting rooms and meetings.If meetings are held there is a risk of person to person transmission as well as risk from common surfaces.Meetings currently not taking place.Staff will be advised that the default position is that meetings should take place by video or telephone, whether internal or external. 01/07/2020
If an in person meeting is unavoidable then the following steps should be taken:
• Social distancing of 2m should be used at all times.
•Pens and other stationery should not be shared •Keep a window open to ventilate the room where possible.		01/07/2020
All pen pots and paper pads should be removed from rooms to avoid inadvertent sharing of pens.01/07/2020 25/06/2020
If a room is used all surfaces should be wiped with antibacterial wipes after use.01/07/2020 Ongoing.
Bottled water to be made available for visitors rather than hot drinks for the time being to avoid transmission between staff and visitors.01/07/2020
Staff should refrain from attending meetings at external premises unless unavoidable. 01/07/2020 Ongoing.
The number of chairs in rooms will be reduced to help encourage social distancing. 01/07/2020
Quiet working areas.These are particularly small rooms that are located in Leeds and Huddersfield offices. There will be a risk of transmission between staff if they are used by multiple people.
As they are small confined work areas it may also be difficult to ensure they are cleaned appropriately between use.Nothing.Stop staff using them at the current time. 01/07/2020
Place posters on the doors advising staff not to use.01/07/2020 16/06/2020
Open plan areas – common issues.Most of the office areas are made up of open plan areas.

This is where staff spend most of their time and where the most care needs to be taken to maintain social distancing and reduce the risk of transmission.

These are configured in 2 different ways at the different sites:
• A ‘workbench’ type layout of rows of desks facing each other
• Pods of 4

Some issues will be common to both layouts, some specific to those specific layouts and issues have been separated accordingly.		Whilst most staff work from home no action has been necessary. Prominent Posters to be displayed reminding staff of the measures they need to observe, to include:
• Regular hand cleaning
• Maintaining 2m distance from colleagues
• Not to share stationery, desks, crockery etc 		15/06/2020 16/06/2020
Particular care to be taken around photocopiers with multiple users. Antibacterial wipes to be made available nearby. 16/06/2020 16/06/2020
Extra cleaning will take place each day in these areas.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Staff will be reminded to ensure desks are clear at the end of each day and that cabinet tops are cleared so surfaces can be cleaned thoroughly. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Staff should remain on their own work floors and not travel to other floors or other offices. 16/06/202016/06/2020
Staff should only bring into the office what they need for work or lunch. 01/07/2020
Open plan areas – bench layout.In these areas (Leeds floor 2 and Huddersfield) staff sit on desks in a bench formation facing each other with a 500mm screen between facing individuals. Whilst most staff work from home no action has been necessary.Staff will need to maintain social distance whilst at desks. They should not sit directly opposite each other at these desks despite the screens.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Open plan areas – 4 seat pod layout.In these areas (Bradford and Leeds floor 3) desks are configured in sets of 4 pods. In the Leeds office each desk is separated from its neighbour by a screen. This is not the case in Bradford.Whilst most staff work from home no action has been necessary.Staff will need to maintain social distance whilst at desks. They should not sit directly opposite each other at these desks despite the screens.Ongoing.Ongoing.
Screens will be sourced and fitted on the desks in Bradford.01/07/2020 10/06/2020
IT support.Occasionally it is necessary for IT support to sit at a colleague’s desk to diagnose any issues. Staff should wear disposable gloves when working on another member of staff’s laptop or PC and maintain social distancing at all times. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Travel to work.It is acknowledged that staff use different forms of transport to travel to the offices and that the government’s current advice is that public transport should be avoided. As a shift system is in place and some staff will continue to work from home in any event, numbers in the office will be reduced. There will therefore be some flexibility to extend on site parking to some staff by prior arrangement. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Space will be allocated in all car parks for the secure storage of bicycles for any staff wishing to cycle to work. Ongoing.Ongoing.
If staff are travelling by public transport, face masks will be provided if they wish to use one. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Third party contractors on site.Third parties visiting site to carry out work poses a transmission risk. This may be cleaners, tradesmen, IT providers and others. All third party contractors will be asked to provide a copy of their Covid secure risk assessment before attending site and a method statement for the work they will be conducting. Ongoing.Ongoing.
Common areas of Leeds and Huddersfield offices.These offices are multi-tenanted and we will not control the behaviour of other occupants.Managing agents to be asked to provide their Covid secure risk assessment to ensure it protects our staff. 01/07/2020 22/05/2020