Covid-19 lockdown

As the Covid-19 lockdown persists, we want to use our health and safety expertise to help businesses steer a course for survival

Uncharted territory for everyone, the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown has brought many British businesses, from high street names to small independents, to their knees. Despite government relief, operators in the fitness, leisure, retail and hospitality sectors in particular are in survival mode. Unable to open their doors to the public, they are trying to protect jobs and keep their heads above water until restrictions begin to be lifted.

We are heartbroken to see so many of our clients affected by this crisis and have been working hard to help them limit the damage to their businesses. As health and safety experts, we are well placed to provide guidance to health clubs, leisure centres, restaurants, hotels and other public-facing businesses, to ensure they are practising optimum hygiene and best practice health and safety processes to protect staff and customers and are fully prepared to resume business when permitted.

Our team has been available around the clock on the phone and by email during this period to deal with enquiries, and we’ve been issuing regular email bulletins to our clients, answering specific questions and providing informational material. Many organisations have contacted us for advice on understanding the complexities of the information being issued by the UK Government, Public Health England and the HSE, while also juggling the demands of internal and external communications.

It’s our hope that, by making quality advice accessible to businesses who deal directly with the public, we can help get them up and running again quickly when the threat-level of the virus decreases. We know the public will be anxious about resuming daily activities, such as going to the gym, high street shopping and visiting the hairdressers, and will need reassurance that businesses have taken the right steps.

To this end, a number of clients have approached us with questions on what to do in the lead up to and opening of their facilities post lockdown. At present there is no post opening advice being given by the UK Government regarding any new restrictions or changes, and so to assist organisations, we have published ‘Suggested Guidance For Clients On What To Do To Remobilise Their Facilities Post Covid 19 Lockdown’.  This first draft ‘Re-mobilisation Plan and Checklist’, along with a ‘Covid-19 Risk Assessment Template Re-opening’, can be adapted for any facility.

The action plan and risk assessment encourages facilities to look at five timeframes for the re-mobilisation:

• Pre-Opening Official Date Announcement
• Re-Opening Official Date Announced
• 7 – 10 Days Prior to Opening
• 1-7 Days Prior to Opening
• Opening and beyond

No-one could have prepared for this situation, and we are here for those who are on overload trying to deal with these issues. Our team is highly experienced and knowledgeable on all matters relating to health and safety, business continuity and safeguarding, and we have a range of resources we can point people to, to help them come up to speed quickly on support and guidance they can access.

We’ve been touched by the response we’ve received from clients who’ve reached out for our helping hand. Here are a few of the kind words we’ve received:

“I just wanted to drop you guys a note to thank you for all the updates and everything you are doing to support us, and the broader sector, at this difficult time.” (Abbeycroft Leisure).

“Your team’s information points have been really useful.” (Burnley Leisure).

“Thank you for sending out your updates, they have been really useful in managing everything that has gone on.” (Cambridge Sport)

If you’d like to be included on our mailing list to receive our bulletins, please email:  info@rightdirections.co.uk quoting: Covid19

As usual, the team are working hard to keep up to date with guidance and advice to support your business. If you need us, we are here for you; we are also providing regular updates via Twitter and LinkedIn.

To reach Right Directions, please call 01582 840 098, email info@rightdirections.co.uk and visit rightdirections.co.uk.