Working Safely In People’s Homes During COVID 19

How We Will Protect Us & You

1.0       INTRODUCTION

Following the latest lockdown and in-line with Government guidelines, we are pleased to inform you that we are open for business for all of our specialist services.

This guidance covers working safely during the COVID-19 pandemic in both occupied and empty properties and covers the identification and control of the particular risks involved.

It gives practical considerations of how this can be applied and complies with the latest government guidelines of working in people’s homes during Covid-19, dated the 11th May 2020 (Updated January 1 2021).

2.0       SOCIAL DISTANCING

• We will maintain social distancing wherever possible.
• Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full in relation to a particular activity, we will consider whether that activity needs to continue for the work to be completed effectively, and, if so, will take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between staff.

Mitigating actions include:

• Further increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning.
• Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible.
• Reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ where possible (so each person works with only a few others).
• Social distancing applies to all parts of our business, not just the property we are carrying out the work

3.0       COMING TO AND LEAVING A PROPERTY WE ARE WORKING AT

We will travel to the property in separate vehicles where possible. If our staff have no option but to travel together, the following will be encouraged:

• Wherever possible the same individuals will travel together, and we will limit in the number of people travelling per vehicle.
• We will maintain good ventilation, for example, keeping windows open and passengers facing away from one another to reduce risk of transmission.
• Vehicles will be regularly cleaned using gloves and standard cleaning products, with emphasis on handles and other areas where passengers may touch surfaces.
• We will wash hands on arrival and maintain social distancing when entering the home.

4.0       MOVING AROUND WHEN WORKING AT A PROPERTY WHICH IS OCCUPIED

• We will discuss with you ahead of a visit and ask that a 2m distance is kept from those working, if possible.
• We will ask that you leave all internal doors open to minimise contact with door handles.
• We will identify busy areas across the household where people travel to, from or through, for example, stairs and corridors, and minimising movement within these areas.
• We will not accept refreshments and will have breaks outside where possible.
• We will limit the number of workers within a confined space to maintain social distancing.
• Wherever possible we will allocate the same workers to a household.

5.0           CLEANING THE WORK AREA

• We will frequently clean objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, using regular cleaning products.
• We will arrange methods of safely disposing waste with the householder (where applicable).
• We will remove all waste and belongings from the work area at the end of the day and at the end of a job.
• If we are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then we will refer to the specific guidance.

6.0            GENERAL HYGENE

• We will wash our hands more often than usual for 20 seconds using soap and hot water, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing our nose.
• We will reduce the spread of germs when we cough or sneeze by covering our mouth and nose with a tissue or our sleeve, not our hands. We will throw the tissue in a bin immediately, then wash our hands.
• We will clean regularly touched objects and surfaces using our regular cleaning products to reduce the risk of passing the infection on to other people.
• We carry antibacterial hand wash If handwashing facilities are not accessible or available.

7.0       PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

By law we are required to wear specific PPE for the specific tasks, and these include:

• Disposable and washable gloves
• Face masks
• Coveralls where necessary

It is imperative to us that you are confident in knowing we are taking every precaution possible and that you feel as safe as possible in our hands.

We very much look forward to being of service to you in the very near future.

Together we can stay safe.

Thank you.

Team RTC