Respiratory Illness Policy
Remaj Care recognises the importance of maintaining worker health and well-being and as such has measures in place to reduce the potential for transmission of respiratory illnesses within the workplace. Symptoms of respiratory illnesses can include:
• Continuous cough
• High temperature, fever, or chills
• Loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
• Muscle aches or pains that aren’t due to exercise
• Not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
• Headache that’s unusual or longer lasting than usual
• Sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
• Diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick.
Measures to manage respiratory illness include:
• Increasing ventilation where required, including adjustment of fresh air ducted into its premises.
• Maintaining high standards of workplace hygiene.
• Providing suitable and sufficient hygiene facilities for workers.
• Providing additional hygiene resources, such as surface wipes and hand sanitisers where required.
• Encouraging and enabling vaccination of workers for respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19 and influenza.
• Considering any additional needs of employees who may be particularly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses and agreeing measures as appropriate in line with an individual risk assessment to protect their welfare.
• Considering social distancing and desk spacing where required.
• Providing testing for certain respiratory illnesses, free of charge where necessary to do so (for example, during a pandemic).
• During field operations, employees will be encouraged to don appropriate RPE in high-risk environments, such as FFP2 face masks.
In addition to these baseline measures, if workers present with symptoms of a respiratory infection, Remaj Care will take reasonably practicable steps to support the worker and enable them to follow the latest government guidelines regarding people with symptoms of a respiratory infection in line with the business’ own sickness absence policies.
Remaj Care will continue to monitor the position and will make any necessary amendments to this policy in line with any changes in the law or published government guidelines
Workers:
If you present with symptoms of a respiratory illness/Covid:
• Remain at home.
• Inform your manager.
• Conduct a test where relevant e.g., Covid-19 Test
• Await the result.
• Work from home until your symptoms improve or in line with the current government Covid-19 guidelines.