RE: England Lockdown, 6 January 2021 – A message to the Construction Industry
Hopefully you will by now have read The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s letter of 11 January 2021 (download) to the construction industry, and the Cabinet Office Guidance published on 4 January 2021 entitled “National lockdown: Stay at Home”.
Both documents make clear that companies and tradespeople in the construction sector and its supply chain, including builders’ merchants, suppliers and product manufacturers, should continue to operate during this national lockdown.
To ensure the construction industry operates safely, the CLC has developed a range of guidance (below) relating to social distancing, use of PPE and face coverings, the safe operation of site canteens, the safe operation of builders’ merchants, the use of public and private transport to work, and the use of temporary accommodation for workers, amongst other important matters.
Both documents make clear that companies and tradespeople in the construction sector and its supply chain, including builders’ merchants, suppliers and product manufacturers, should continue to operate during this national lockdown.
To ensure the construction industry operates safely, the CLC has developed a range of guidance (below) relating to social distancing, use of PPE and face coverings, the safe operation of site canteens, the safe operation of builders’ merchants, the use of public and private transport to work, and the use of temporary accommodation for workers, amongst other important matters. These are available at:
• CLC Site Operating Procedures (download)
• CLC guidance on the use of face coverings in construction during coronavirus (download)
• BMF Branch Operating Guidelines (download)
• FMB guidance for installers working indoors
• TrustMark Work Safe, Safe Work home maintenance guidance
• HBF Charter for Safe Working Practice (download)
• Build UK Flowchart on what to do if a worker has COVID-19 or has to Self-Isolate (download)
The Site Operating Procedures have been revised to Version 7 and the Branch Operating Guidelines to Version 4.1 to reflect the latest direction from the Government. The other documents remain unchanged.
Over the course of the last year, the construction industry has proven that it can introduce and maintain safe working environments on sites, when working in homes, in builders’ merchants and in product manufacturing facilities. However, the rapid spread of a more
contagious variant of Covid19 means, it is imperative that we all maintain the highest possible standards of control over how we operate, including compliance with the relevant procedures. I urge you all to review your current arrangements to make sure that this is so.
One point that I would like to highlight from the Cabinet Office Guidance is that you can only leave home for work purposes where it is essential, and you cannot do your job from home. This is not about convenience or efficiency but about necessity, and again I urge you to critically challenge what works can genuinely not be done at home. For workers that do have to leave home for work purposes, it is essential that these workers carefully manage their journeys to work, in order to minimise impacts on public transport networks. It is also vital that those people in the industry who are in the clinically extremely vulnerable category are supported to work from home, and should not in any circumstances travel to work.
As an industry we have demonstrated we can control our operations so that the work we do can be done safely, in collective consistent compliance with the Site Operating Procedures and in accordance with Government direction. For the sake of our workforce, the general public around us, and the national economy, we have a huge responsibility to continue to get this right.
As I said in my previous letter — together I know that we can and we will continue to do what is needed of us.
Andy Mitchell, CLC Co-Chair, 13th January 2021