A number of workplace readiness tools have been developed to help businesses that are reopening to put in place the necessary occupational health and safety provisions to enable a safe Return2Work. Please feel free to forward the following documents to businesses in your sectors:
Workplace readiness practice note – provides minimum practice guidelines for all employers to resume operations safely and minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission to workers.
CEO declaration template – confirmation that the employer has completed the required procedures and planning processes to safely resume operations at level 4 lockdown.
Risk assessment and management tool – a planning tool to aid a company to assess their COVID-19 related risks (tab 1) and then put in place plans and controls to mitigate those risks (tab 2). Note that this should be done with the workplace occupational health and safety committee, if applicable.
Risk adjusted strategy regulations – note in particular page 15 and Annexure E that have been included in the practice note and CEO declaration.
Note, these documents seek to incorporate all the relevant official requirements, but do not replace the law. If a business has already assessed its occupational health and safety risks and put in place a plan, the business need not use these tools. The material is provided for guidance in the absence of the business having a process and plan in place; or as an additional reference to ensure that all important risk factors and control measures are considered. It is important to remind to all businesses to keep their occupational health and safety records, and risk management approach available in the event that it is required for reporting or compliance purposes.
These documents will be available for download on the Return2Work website at:
https://www.return2work.co.za/ together with official reference documents and resources. We will add further useful links to resources over the coming days and weeks. Note that the sector planning tool is already loaded and available on the website.
We trust this will help your business plan for a safe Return2Work.