Further to the latest government guidance on ending the current Coronavirus restrictions, we are now reverting back to the arrangements that were in place before 5th November.
A reminder of the arrangements is below.
The whole of Surrey has been placed in Tier 2, for an explanation of the Tier system – see here.
If you live in, or need to travel through a Tier 3 (more restricted) area to come to work the guidance is that you can continue to do so.
The guidance is very clear that anyone who can work from home should do so however it is also recognised that there are specific reasons why attendance in the workplace may be needed in certain circumstances. There is specific reference to the fact that public-sector employees working in essential services should continue to go into work where necessary.
Our approach is therefore in keeping with this.
For Pippbrook, this means we will once again make 10 bookable slots available in the morning and a further 10 in the afternoon and there will be a Manager of the Day, First Aiders and facilities management presence from 9-5. If you need to come to the office, for any of the grounds listed in red below, please discuss with your manager and, subject to their agreement, do make use of these slots.
- Those carrying out jobs/tasks which can’t be done from home
- Those carrying out jobs/tasks which are much slower/more difficult at home
- Those living in homes which don’t facilitate home working
- Those who need to attend the office to ensure their personal wellbeing
Places are first come, first served – and you may need to plan ahead to get a space. Afternoons are usually quieter than the mornings.
The teams/individuals who have been required throughout this period to work in an office space already know who they are.
As before, the total number of staff who can work from all council owned premises is restricted and therefore must be controlled.
Park House, the Fairfield Centre and Dorking Halls have their own arrangements in place already, if there are any changes they will make their own arrangements to communicate to their staff.
Other functions carried out at/from Pippbrook
Please note that the following functions remain unchanged –
- Reception remains open for appointment only visits
- Visits, inspections etc. continue
Meetings
With regard to meetings –
- Internal meetings at any council owned premises should be held virtually – should there be an absolute need to meet in person then this must be risk assessed and agreed by your Executive Head of Service
- External meetings should be virtual only
- Council and other Member meetings remain virtual
If you have any questions please direct them to your line manager in the first instance.
Full risk assessments should be in place for any activities that are specific to the service.
Generic risk assessments can be found here.
Staff Coronavirus pages will be updated, again, where it’s necessary to bring in line with these changes over the next few days but much of the Q&As will remain as they are now, subject to giving bookable slots for Pippbrook for the additional reasons stated above.