Staff Handbook - Policies and Procedures

Page 79

PANDEMIC POLICY – TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE AT THE TIME.

Introduction This policy outlines the measures taken by Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding Ltd to reduce and control the spread of infectious diseases during any pandemic. While originally developed in response to COVID 19, it applies to all future pandemics, including those involving airborne, droplet, or contact transmissible illnesses, as guided by UKHSA and other public health authorities. This document should be used in conjunction with current government guidance, UKHSA updates, and Network Rail or Principal Contractor instructions. What is a Pandemic ? A pandemic is a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the world at a particular time. An example of this is COVID-19 which is a respiratory virus which is primarily spread through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes and can be spread easily from person to person. The key measures introduced to control the spread of the virus are to maintain a distance of at least 2.0m (6'-6") between individuals and strict measures for cleaning and hygiene. Control Measures Operations on or near Network Rail infrastructure will fully comply with project-specific pandemic protocols and Network Rail’s infrastructure safety guidelines, including any updated Sentinel Scheme instructions. Staff should refer to current UKHSA guidance for public health advice: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency If you or any work colleague are displaying any potential coronavirus symptoms; OR, If you have any concerns about the welfare facilities or the work environment (site) regarding measures to protect workers from coronavirus (e.g. social distancing, cleaning and hygiene regimes) then you should… • STOP work • REMOVE yourself to a position of safety • REPORT immediately to your supervisor or manager (ideally by telephone) 1. Social Distancing. Social distancing rules are a series of measures, set by the UK Government A key safeguard included within the social distancing rules is • to maintain a distance of at least 2.0m (6'-6") from other people where possible . This has been adopted as a fundamental protective measure. • Where it is not possible to follow the social distancing guidelines, we will consider whether that scaffold needs to continue for the site to continue to operate, and, if so, we will mitigate the risk as much as possible to reduce the risk of transmission. These may include: - • Minimising the frequency and time people are working within 2.0m of each other. • Minimising the number of workers involved doing each task. • Workers being positioned side by side or facing away from each other, rather than face -to-face. The key measures introduced to control the spread of the virus are: • to maintain a distance of at least 2.0m (6'-6") between individuals • and strict measures for cleaning and hygiene.

2. Self-isolating and Shielding

Pandemic Policy: V6 30-06-25

Registered Office: Unit 2A Longrock Industrial Estate, Penzance, Cornwall. TR20 8HX Company Reg. No. 04124350 VAT Reg. No. 684598666 UTR No. 24386 09541