All employers in the Netherlands face the challenging task in April/May 2020 of developing policies for the period in which the current Corona measures are relaxed. How can work be done in the “1.5 meter economy”?
According to the Occupational Health and Safety legislation, the employer is obliged to organize the work in such a way that there is a safe workplace, a safe production process, and safe working conditions. Since there is no vaccine yet, and a new outbreak must be prevented, it can be assumed that 1.5 meters physical distance will be the norm for the rest of 2020 and possibly beyond.
For some sectors such as hospitality, travel industry, agriculture and horticulture, shops, this will have a huge impact. Other sectors such as business and financial services can work much more easily from home, so an adjustment will be easier here. For all sectors: the workplace and work processes must be adapted and careful consideration must also be given to teleworking activities.
The following measures can be considered in the workplace, in no particular order:
- At the entrance: Information about regulations and/or a safety officer for enforcement thereof;
- Walking paths on the work floor and on the stairs, staggered use of toilets and elevator;
- Adjustment of work/production process to maintain distance and avoid or limit physical contacts;
- Inventory of materials and places that are intensively used and therefore need to be cleaned several times a day;
- Dividing into teams that rotate working at the office or from home, spread out over the week (or day?);
- Staggering lunch and break times across departments to prevent a crowded cafeteria;
- Rearrange the open-plan office so that 1.5 meters distance can be maintained there as well (cubicles?);
- Evaluation of flexible workspaces; can these still be used by rotating employees, or are they temporarily becoming personal (duo) workspaces again?
- Individual: Adjust KPIs where physical contact moments are changed to, for example, video, and measure output instead of attendance;
- taking inventory of employees who come by public transport and exploring alternatives with them;
- Information and inspection of the home workspace to ensure compliance with Arbo standards;
- Instructions for working from home (breaks, a healthy working posture, daily schedule with sufficient variety and breaks);
- introducing software that enables contact with colleagues to simulate an office environment;
- Investigation or measures to prevent psychosocial strain from working from home (PSA);
- Last but not least: a specific policy with risk-reducing measures for employees with a vulnerable health;
If your organization has a preventive officer, it makes sense to develop this policy in consultation with him/her.
Parts of this 1.5 meter policy will, in our estimation, require approval (art. 27 paragraph 1 sub d. WOR “a regulation in the field of working conditions, absenteeism, or reintegration policy“), and if software is chosen that can monitor employees at home; an assessment must be made before its implementation regarding the GDPR and this will also be approval-required within the meaning of art. 27 paragraph 1 sub l WOR “a regulation concerning provisions aimed at or suitable for observation or control of the presence, behavior or performance of persons working in the company.” Consultation with the Works Council is required.
Author: Femke Luijkx
