Coronavirus cases could rebound unless workplaces are made Covid-secure, unions leaders warn

Coronavirus cases could soar if workplaces are not made Covid secure, union leaders have warned.

As pubs, bars, restaurants and non-essential shops prepare to open again on 12 April, the TUC said vaccinations should not be used as an excuse to relax safe working rules.

Some 11,000 working-age people have died during the pandemic, the union organisation said.

It urged employers to update their risk assessments taking into account what has been learned in the pandemic so far, including the importance of ventilation, to keep transmission low.

This is despite it being a legal requirement for employers to have an up-to-date assessment and consult safety reps when writing it.

The TUC also urged employers to not require workers to travel to workplaces where they do desk-based jobs, even in sectors that are allowed to be open.

Government guidance on working from home has not changed. Everyone who can work from home should continue to do so until at least 21 June.

Companies should seek to persuade staff to get the vaccine, but not make it a condition of employment, the TUC said.

Some employers have said they will demand that staff have the vaccine, a policy dubbed "no jab, no job".

The TUC also urged the Government to take a harder stance with companies flouting health and safety rules.

General secretary Frances O'Grady said: "We all want this lockdown to be the last, but if we get workplace safety wrong, the virus could rebound.

"Ministers must send out a strong message to employers - act now on workplace safety.

"The government has imposed big fines on individuals who break lockdown rules, but not a single employer has been prosecuted and fined for putting workers or the public at risk. It's time for the Health and Safety Executive to crack down on bad bosses.

"Over a year into the pandemic, it beggars belief that ministers have not fixed sick pay. Sick pay is too little to live on. No wonder too many are not self-isolating when they need to."