People who simply cannot work from home, such as tradespeople, can still work during the pandemic lockdown – however, they need to follow the latest 2021 safety guidelines.
If you’re a tradesperson concerned about finding work this year, then Workever guides are a good starting point to help you carry out your responsibilities and work obligations in a safe manner.
What tradespeople need to know to continue working safely in 2021
In the January 4, 2021 national address, Boris Johnson stated that anyone who is unable to effectively work from home or work remotely is allowed to work on-site, such as tradespeople, builders and construction workers.
Therefore, if you are a tradesperson, you can continue to work safely on-site. The latest guidance on coronavirus states that current safety guidelines specifically refer to visiting or delivering services within homes. This includes (without limitation) people working under the following categories:
- Home builders
- Home repair service personnel
- Fitters
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Cleaners
- Meter readers
- Cooks
- Visiting childcare providers
- Surveyors
Furthermore, there appear to be special provisions in many countries for the delivery of essential supplies such as groceries, fuel (provided by suppliers like Romeo’s Fuel), medicines, surface cleaners, and sanitary napkins.
Here are some of the new safety measures tradespeople need to adhere to in 2021:
- Tradesperson are not allowed to enter anyone’s home who has tested positive for the virus and are currently undergoing self-isolation.
- Tradesperson and their customers must communicate before work starts in order to minimise face-to-face contact. If there’s a necessity for any products, these tradespersons could get them delivered with the help of e-stores like DC Trade.
- As soon as the work is finished, the tradesperson(s) must wipe down every surface they came into contact with before leaving.
- Tradespeople working inside a home must keep a minimum distance of 2 metres between themselves and the household members and take other reasonable safety measures, such as sanitising their hands prior to walking in and wearing a face mask at all times.
- Face coverings or masks are to be worn at all times and tradespeople are urged to spend the least amount of time working within a confined/indoor space.
- Trade workers are urged to carry out the regular hand washing procedure (more than 20 seconds) and dispose of all waste at the site or designated waste disposal site.
- Tradesmen are not to use any towels or other cleaning/hygiene products used by members of the household. Additionally, they are advised to use paper towels and dispose of these appropriately and immediately in a waste bin which is at least a few metres away from the site.
New Rules for tradespeople working in groups or teams
- If tradespeople are required to work in teams, they should only work while standing, kneeling or sitting side to side or back to back, and not face to face.
- Any kind of work which cannot be carried out while adhering to the guidelines and isn’t urgent in nature should be postponed.
This article is by no means comprehensive guide on the new safety rules and if you’re finding it difficult to carry out your job during the lockdown, there is more information available on the workever.com blog on this link https://workever.com/blog/which-tradespeople-can-still-work-during-lockdown/.
