COVID-19 and Health & Safety

COVID-19: Know your rights and PCS workplace H&S log

Guide for members on refusing to attend work due to H&S concerns. H&S incident reporting log for members to use plus annex setting out some common H&S legislation and general advice.

PCS recognise that as the coronavirus pandemic continues this is an extremely difficult and worrying time for members. PCS have been clear with employers that the safest place for members is for them to remain at home. We have been doing all we can to ensure that as many members as possible are kept at home either working or on special paid leave. This has resulted in around 80% of members being at home. We accept that there is critical work that needs to be done and that sometimes this can’t be done from home but this should only involve small numbers and in a controlled environment.

We have been fighting hard to protect members’ safety – calling for staff numbers to be kept at a bare minimum in workplaces and for only genuinely critical work to be carried out with protections and safeguards in place. We’ve also been pushing hard for adequate PPE to be provided. We therefore regard with a large degree of frustration and concern the fact that Border Force and Immigration Enforcement are still insisting that in most cases (with the exception of clandestine encounters) members cannot wear facemasks as a matter of course. This is a completely unsustainable and a belligerent stance.

Many members have contacted PCS with concerns around social distancing or lack of PPE in their workplace. People are generally in fear about the risks posed by going into workplaces where staff numbers are increasing or masks and gloves are not provided when in close contact with the general public or colleagues.

We have therefore produced a briefing setting out members’ legal rights addressing the common question Can I refuse to attend my workplace?

Please take the time to fully read and digest this advice and discuss with colleagues if you feel necessary.

Further to this we’ve set up a simple online reporting log for anyone in a workplace to record any H&S instances. It is extremely important that every single incidence no matter how minor you feel it is gets reported. Management are telling PCS that everything is fine in workplaces, that their social distancing measures are all working and people are content with the PPE provided. We know this is plainly not true and we need to provide evidence to dispel management’s misplaced complacency.

Please save the link to the PCS H&S reporting log and share this widely with colleagues to use too: https://r1.dotmailer-surveys.com/784e1e61-664mnmeb.

PCS will undertake to log instances and raise these with management at your location (we will not provide your name or personal details unless we get your prior agreement).

Below this briefing is an annex setting out some common H&S legislation and some further general guidance for members.

You need to let us and your employer know of any problems with social distancing or where there has been any breaches. If that means reporting 5, 10, 15 or more instances a day then this should be done. Are there problems getting into your office due to waiting for lifts? Are corridors too narrow to allow people to pass with a least a 2m gap? Are there enough toilet facilities in use for the amount of staff in the building at any one time (see legislation set out in the annex below)? As people are encouraged to wash their hands more regularly is this causing queues outside toilets with social distancing problems? Have there been any problems with travel to work? Any instances where you have been forced to come into close contact (less than 2m) with either a colleague or member of the public these need to be reported.

Is there a lack of PPE? Are you being told you can’t wear a facemask even though you would feel safer wearing one? If so report this every single shift you are in while these are not being provided. Is there a lack of sanitiser in places? Are all sanitiser bottles in date? Are there enough wipes to regularly clean your equipment and surroundings? We want to hear of any instances so this can be reported to your local management to address. We will raise this higher if these are not being dealt with.

Please compete the PCS reporting log and we also strongly encourage you to raise a formal individual H&S incident report with your employer for each incident or near miss.

Section 44 H&S legal rights serious and imminent danger here

PCS H&S incidents reporting log here

For Home Office employees the employers incident report can be found here

Share this briefing widely amongst your colleagues.

If you’re not already a PCS member – join on-line today.

Mike Jones (Group Secretary)

Any queries about this PCS Home Office Group Members' Briefing can be sent to the author here.

Annex

Common H&S legislation and general advice guidance

Section 44 Employment Rights Act 1996 could be considered the cornerstone of the UK’s Health & Safety at Work legislation. Section 44 provides employees with the means to contest the adequacy and/or suitability of safety arrangements without fear of recriminations (e.g. getting sacked or transferred) or suffering detriment (e.g. loss of wages). Section 44 provides employees with the ‘right’ to withdraw from and to refuse to return to a workplace that is unsafe. Employees are entitled to remain away from the workplace (e.g. stay at home) if – in their opinion – the prevailing circumstances represent a real risk of serious and imminent danger which they could not be expected to avert.

Social Distancing measures

The advice on social distancing measures applies to everyone and employers should take steps to avoid crowding and minimise opportunities for the virus to spread by maintaining a distance of 2 metres between individuals.

Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Regulation 20, Sanitary conveniences

Number of toilets and washbasins for mixed use (or women only):

Toilets used by men only:

Then + 1 toilet for every 25 (or part thereof) people.

During the coronavirus all toilet blocks should be single occupancy so even if there are for example 2 toilets and 3 urinals in a male toilet block this should only be counted as one, as multiple use is not acceptable.

Therefore if there are 76 women in a building and 61 men there would need to be at least 5 women toilet blocks with washbasins in use and 6 male toilet blocks in use. A total of 11 toilet blocks for 137 people. If this number was increased to, for example 126 women and 121 men (252 people) the minimum number of toilet blocks required to be in use would be (6 women and 10 men) 16.

If there are not the required number of toilet blocks in use for the amount of staff in the building then the employer is breaking the law and the building should be shut until staff numbers are reduced or further adequate toilet facilities are installed. REMEMBER only one person should be allowed to use a full toilet block at any one time during the coronavirus outbreak.

Members must report if there are not the required number of toilets in use.

HMPO – Human Applications independent report

In the conclusions to the report it stated:

3. Where HMPO needs to increase occupancy, the steps taken at each site should allow for the gradual introduction of more colleagues. Gradual introduction of colleagues will need to be at the discretion of the senior manager on-site, as it will vary from site to site. We recommend working with colleagues to agree a phased approach, such as increasing head count on a shift by a relatively small number (e.g. fewer than10) and review after two shifts to agree additional numbers.

It is quite clear and we would expect that a maximum people increase HMPO could bring into each site at a time would be 9 and there would need to be a two day gap to assess any problems and discuss with staff and the union before bringing in another maximum of 9. Clearly HMPO are not abiding by this.

When PCS wrote to the HMPO/UKVI director general to raise this and complain about the significant jump in numbers from w/c 20 to w/c 27 April - as this was clearly not a gradual increase, their response was staggering! They said we were being selective!!! It is clearly HMPO who are being selective by failing to follow the independent safety report they commissioned. This flagrant disregard to a report they commissioned and the safety of staff is unfathomable.

Social distancing and shielding for Vulnerable staff and household members and child care

Members of staff who are vulnerable or extremely vulnerable, as well as individuals whom they live with, should be supported as they follow the recommendations set out in the government guidance on social distancing and shielding respectively

The Government is currently advising people to shield until the end of June and is regularly monitoring this position. PCS expect any vulnerable or extremely vulnerable members of staff or those living with extremely vulnerable people in their household to be provided with suitable work to be performed at home. Where this is not possible because the employer can’t provide the technology to do this then special paid leave should be granted. Where this is refused members should speak to a local PCS rep and consider making an appeal.

Child care arrangements

The Home Office FAQ’s states Line managers should be fully supportive of employees and should consider flexible working arrangements including working from home (for those not already working from home) where this is possible or adapting working patterns to care for children or dependants. Creative and pragmatic solutions should be explored and there is no intention that employees should be working day and night.

An initial period of paid special leave may be granted if other options are not possible. In view of the exceptional circumstances line managers can grant 10 days/two working weeks’ special leave as an immediate interim provision to enable parents to care for their children at home.

Further days will generally need to be granted by a grade 7 or above. Where this is refused members should speak to a local PCS rep and consider making an appeal.

Any queries about this PCS Home Office Group Members' Briefing can be sent to the author here.