Workplace Covid-19 testing is something that you should definitely consider if you are an employer. The government is encouraging employers across all sectors to take workplace testing seriously if you have staff who cannot work from home. Even though there is no legal requirement for employers to implement testing, but there are a lot of benefits for employers of doing so.
Workplace Covid-19 testing can provide confidence to both staff and customers, help protect the workforce and also enable business continuity. However, there are a number of practical and legal issues that employers need to consider in order to implement safe as well as effective workplace testing.
Workplace testing relies on rapid lateral flow antigen testing whereby a swab is taken from the back of the throat and nose. The test result is usually visible around 30 minutes later. Lateral flow tests are not the same as the more sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests which are usually conducted at test sites and are then analyzed in a laboratory.
So, how do you can access free COVID-19 tests? All businesses in the United Kingdom are now able to sign up to the government’s free COVID-19 workplace testing programme. You need to register your business to be able to order free lateral flow tests to test your employees twice a week. These are provided free of charge, but to be eligible your business must be registered in England and your employees cannot work from home.
You may be wondering if you can make workplace testing mandatory for your staff. Making COVID-19 testing compulsory for staff has a number of legal and practical risks. Some staff may not want to be tested for various reasons. The test is invasive and, for some, it is uncomfortable. For this reasons, making the tests mandatory may not be possible.
For more information on Workplace Covid-19 testing, visit our website at https://www.harleymedic.co.uk/