The Ministry of Health has guidance for infectious disease prevention and control for workplaces which may be useful to protect workers and others from infectious diseases such as novel coronavirus (known as COVID-19).
You can also read COVID-19 specific information on the Ministry of Health website.
Minimising the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace is important to keeping staff safe and well at work.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) requires businesses to mitigate health and safety risks and protect their workers from them, so far as is reasonably practicable.
All businesses should continue with their usual health and safety practices in line with HSWA, in particular around good hygiene and business continuity planning. This may mean planning for continued supply of products required to meet health and safety requirements.
Personal Protective Equipment
Health responder personal protective equipment and PPE required for other types of work may be different but there could be supply issues for both. In the event of worker PPE being in short supply, business should look at other reasonably practicable risk-management options such as:
- Alternative and/or additional, appropriate PPE (this may mean checking gear provided from new sources is appropriate and fits properly)
- isolation of work requiring PPE (so fewer workers are affected by the work of another worker)
- use more effective controls than PPE e.g., engineering solutions, or substitution of the hazard.
Team Leaders must ensure all workers are aware of PPE requirements such as:
- Acceptable ways to wear and maintain PPE for the purpose of safety during a pandemic
- Best practice for removal of PPE under these circumstances
- How to dispose of PPE appropriately, including a site tour to show the appropriate places to discard PPE
Workers and Pandemics
Workers can raise concerns around pandemic risk-management controls. Ensure this is clearly communicated to all staff, including:
- Who they report to
- What type of information they may wish to report
- How to suggest improvement opportunities, regarding the pandemic situation or other related issues
Important information regarding workers:
- All workers must be re-inducted onto worksites, to comply with new site requirements during a pandemic
- If workers are moving between sites, they must follow the requirements for travel on Page 8
- Every staff member must sign off that they have read, understood and will comply with the pandemic management plan