The HSE Issue Guidance on New Measures to reduce Risk of Transmission in the Workplace
Measures announced to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission
On 8 December, the UK government announced Plan B measures for England in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
The most recent GOV.UK guidance has information on the latest public health measures, including face coverings, COVID-19 status checks and the NHS Pass. Those who can work from home should do so. Anyone who cannot work from home should continue to go to the workplace.
There is separate advice for Scotland and Wales.
HSE’s latest advice on keeping workplaces safe will help you to continue to work safely during the pandemic. You must still control the risks and review and update your risk assessment. The following workplace controls remain unchanged:
May 17th - Excitement and Trepidation all in One
The roadmap towards a full easing of Lockdown is underpinned by four key tests that are linked to data, which act like a checklist that must be met before moving on to the next step of reopening.
The tests determine whether the vaccine rollout is going as planned; vaccines are effective in bringing down deaths and hospitalisations; case numbers are not rising so fast that the NHS risks being overwhelmed; and new variants do not create unforeseen risks.
The Prime Minister confirmed on Friday that clusters of the Indian variant were evident in Bolton, Blackburn and Darwen, regions which have invited all adults aged 18 and over to receive the vaccine from May 17 in a bid to curb the spread. And although Covid cases and hospitalisations have continued to fall across the UK, the Indian variant poses a concern as it has spread three times faster than other imported strains. Public Health England figures show that the strain is now dominant in several Covid-19 hotspots in the North West of England.
Big Changes for Landlords and Tenants from 1 June
The Parliamentary CLG Select Committee recently asked that the MHCLG set out its plans for unwinding the various measures put in place to protect tenants during the pandemic. Yesterday they did just that.
The stay on bailiff and HCEO evictions ends completely on 1 June and so landlords will now be able to enforce the various court orders they have obtained. Landlords could in principle apply for warrants now for action after 1 June but I am not sure that the Bailiff’s offices will allow this. There are suggestions of a massive burst of evictions as a result of this but I doubt that will occur. The reality is that the county court bailiffs simply do not have the capacity to do much more than they were doing pre-Covid and so I do not expect them to be doing that many more evictions than they were before the pandemic. The MHLCG press release suggests that there will be priority given to ASB and fraud cases but doubtless there will also be an element of first come, first served. The removal of the stay will also mean that all protections given to tenancies that fall outside one of the statutory regimes (non-Housing Act tenancies) and residential licences will lose all their protection from 1 June.
Also from 1 June there will be the start of a taper in relation to section 8 and 21 notice periods, which have been extended for the pandemic and the regulations to do this have already been laid. The first stage of the taper will last until the end of September.
Landmark Domestic Abuse Bill receives Royal Assent
Domestic Violence has always been a serious and emotive topic, yet since March 2020 and the first Lockdown in the UK, reports of violence in the home increased by 1000%. Victims were literally locked in with their abusers with no where to go, no possible escape. Our Advice Line deals with many different issues which relate predominantly to Landlord, Tenant lettings related matters, yet there have been “topics” which have become more and more prevalent - death of a landlord or tenant, mental health issues and of course, domestic violence within rented properties. It is the letting agent and / or property manager that is often faced with dealing with such matters - none of which are very straightforward or easy to navigate.
However, it is Domestic Violence that has come to the fore over the last 13 months, therefore the fact that The Domestic Abuse Act will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators, is a milestone.