WorkSafeBC has released guidelines for all of the industries expected to re-open as part of Phase 2 of the province’s novel coronavirus restart plan.
“Every employer is required to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan that assesses the risk of exposure at their worksite and implements measures to keep their workers safe,” said WorkSafeBC head of protection services Al Johnson.
“We’ve developed both general and industry-specific materials in consultation with industry and labour stakeholders to ensure they are practical and understandable for workplaces in each sector.”
The WorkSafeBC website crashed moments after the link was made publicly available. The province is starting to allow businesses to re-open on May 19 with these guidelines in place.
The guidelines are available for the following sectors:
- Restaurants, cafes, pubs
- Salons and personal services
- Real estate
- Arts and cultural facilities (Museums, art galleries, and libraries)
- Retail
- Education K-12
- Parks and outdoor spaces
- Health services
- In-person counselling
- Office space
WorkSafeBC is expected to release sector-specific guidelines for child care and recreation and sports in the coming days.
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To complement specific industry protocols, WorkSafeBC has released details intended for all workplaces. The information includes a COVID-19 safety plan template, workplace posters, information on cleaning and hygiene practices, and guidance on the selection and use of masks.
WorkSafeBC is not requiring businesses to present safety plan for review or approval but the organization will have prevention officers begin a province-wide verification and inspection initiative to ensure that employers have their plans in place and are keeping their workers safe.
“The planning process should involve workers for their input to ensure their concerns are heard and addressed,” Johnson said.
There are dozens of guidelines for each industry.
Broad rules exist for all businesses including more hand washing stations, removing furniture to allow for greater physical distancing and posting signage around capacity.
The restaurant sector is being encouraged to modify or eliminate in-person meetings and morning huddles and when in-person meetings are required, to hold them outside where the risk of transmission is lower.
Staff are being asked to eliminate hand-to-hand contact with customers and rearrange waiting areas by removing chairs and benches, asking guests to wait outside for a table, posting signs, stanchions and tape on floor.
The industry is being advised by WorkSafe to create separate take-out and dine-in protocols and to create a door or path separate from dine-in customers for payment and/or pickup if possible.
One option being proposed is for restaurants to consider having customers seat themselves by displaying table numbers or to have a greeter behind plexiglass assign tables.
Staff are being asked to maintain a two-metre distance from other workers and guests and if work activities, like serving, mean that physical distancing cannot be maintained at all times, employers may consider the use of masks as an additional measure.
For the personal services industry, including salons and hairdressers, businesses are being asked to determine and post occupancy limits for common areas.
Businesses will be required to arrange workstations of hairstylists, barbers, nail technicians, estheticians, or other staff to ensure adequate physical distancing of two metres between stations is maintained.
WorkSafe is suggesting businesses consider creating cohorts of workers who work together and who do not interact with other cohorts.
“This will assist in reducing transmission throughout the workplace in the event that a staff member becomes ill,” the WorkSafe guidelines reads.
The guidelines also advise businesses to remove magazine racks, booklets, brochures, toys, and product sell sheets from client areas, including the reception area and lobby and to remove product testers.
Like many industries, personal service businesses are being advised to provide barriers, such as plexiglass, at the reception desk, between service stations or sink areas, or other areas where the physical distancing requirements cannot be maintained.
Hairdressers are being required to minimize the sharing of tools, equipment and product and to provide each worker their own set of tools if possible. WorkSafe is suggesting the use of single-use items, such as single use make-up applicators if possible.
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