Guidance to Brokers on Returning to Work in Offices

Dear Member

The Covid-19 Specific National Protocol for Employers and Workers document was published on 9 May 2020 and contains the Return to Work Safety Protocol. A link to the Protocol may be found here:

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/22829a-return-to-work-safely-protocol/

This email is intended to assist members in complying with the Protocol. All members should read the Protocol in full to ensure their business is in a position to meet its requirements before staff return to the office.

The Protocol requires that employers must take the following measures before reopening:

• Develop a Covid-19 business response plan
• Ensure that physical distancing can be maintained across all work activities
• Establish and issue a pre-return to work form for workers to complete at least three days in advance of the return to work
• Implement thorough and frequent cleaning of frequently touched surfaces in the workplace
• Appoint at least one lead worker representative charged with ensuring that COVID-19 measures are strictly adhered to in their place of work. The lead worker representative must receive appropriate training
• Provide induction training for all workers
• Establish a response plan to deal with any suspected case of COVID-19

Training for Brokers Ireland members and their employees

Brokers Ireland are looking into providing training assistance to members for their employees, details will follow shortly.

Employers may consider that the following steps are also appropriate to their businesses:

• Review sick leave policies.
• Ensure any occupational health service, if provided, is available to address any worker concerns and communicate the messages about good hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and physical distancing.
• Make available the necessary public health advice from the HSE and other sources as appropriate to their workers if there is no occupational health service available in a workplace.

Download Brokers Ireland Guidance to Brokers Returning to Work in Offices Document

Customer Facing Roles

Many of the measures noted above for workers can and should equally be applied for work activity that involves direct customer or visitor contacts.

Brokers Ireland is aware that the Protocol provides no guidance at all to our Members who may need to visit clients in the clients’ homes. We can advise that we have lobbied in relation to this and will be updating Members in relation to this when we are in a position to.

Brokers Ireland Covid-19 HR Webinar

Brokers Ireland will be holding a webinar for employers on 4 June 2020.   In order to ensure that the webinar responds to the needs of our Members, we are providing a facility for the submission of questions or issues you would like to be addressed in the webinar.  Please  click here to submit your questions and issues.

If you have any queries on the contents of this email, please contact rachel@brokersireland.ie.

Please continue to send us your suggestions and feedback on all areas. You can also email queries directly to the following contacts:

• Life/Financial Services – rachel@brokersireland.ie
• General – cathie@brokersireland.ie
• Compliance – compliance@brokersireland.ie

Kind Regards

Diarmuid Kelly

CEO