As countries have emerged from the lockdown procedures implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus this spring, there has been considerable concern and apprehension among people, especially in identified high risk groups, about the safety of the workplaces they’ll be returning to.
New research from the University of Stirling ponders whether employers could face legal action from employees who contract the virus after returning to work. The paper outlines numerous concerns about the safety of returning to work, such as the efficacy of the test, trace and isolate approach in actually protecting workers.
The paper suggests that the science has not always been followed, with a lack of real research on the impact of the virus on many of those in industries such as construction, retail, and food processing.
“Employers have a duty to report occupational diseases. However, COVID-19 is not yet classified as an occupational disease under the Prescribed Industrial Diseases scheme, which would generate workers’ compensation,” the researcher says. “Under current legislation, incidents where a worker is exposed, or possibly exposed, to COVID-19 is reported to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.”
Full disclosure
As a result, they believe that occupational cases of covid-19 will be left unreported, and therefore neither investigated or compensated for, which could result in civil actions being taken in court from employees or their families.
The paper highlights that the transmission routes of the virus were established fairly quickly, especially in relation to airborne transmision, and argue that this knowledge should have informed decisions about how to make workplaces safe, whether in turns of the availability of personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and social distancing measures. Alas, they believe, this knowledge was not acted upon.
“A catalogue has emerged in the UK of missed opportunities and failures by various government bodies, agencies and organisations, and employers to plan for the pandemic and to equip staff with the necessary health and safety equipment and procedures to protect themselves and the public from COVID-19,” the researcher says. “In contrast, UK trade unions and non-governmental organisations issued early warnings of a pandemic – and offered important guidance on solutions to mitigate its impact on workers and, hence, wider society.”
Safe workplaces
The paper suggests that prior to the pandemic, the Health and Safety Executive, who oversee safety in workplaces in the UK, failed to adequately check pandemic planning in workplaces, nor the availability of personal protective equipment for people working both in healthcare and sectors such as shops, transport and warehouses.
As a result, transmission of the virus through the workforce has occurred in four waves, with healthcare workers first, social care workers following, and then workers in transport, service, and construction following.
“COVID-19 has emerged in a very short period of time as an ‘occupational disease’ but gaining official recognition and establishing workplace exposures as its cause may well still prove highly problematic,” the author concludes. “The task may be easier for healthcare workers than other occupational groups. For that reason, it is critical that the health and safety need of the third and fourth waves of exposed workers are addressed and appropriate preventative action taken, supported by the necessary research.”
