The wearing of face coverings became compulsory in shops in July, but since then there has been confusion over whether they should be worn in places of work, including construction sites. The Construction Leadership Council has said that workers should be given face coverings in certain site conditions.
The new guidance applies to those working in enclosed spaces where maintaining social distancing isn’t possible and where they come into contact with people they do not normally work with, such as contractors and suppliers.
The Construction Leadership Council advises that employers should provide workers operating in these conditions with cloth or fabric face coverings for the mouth and nose. However, they are not classed as PPE as they do not protect against work-related hazards and are not manufactured to a recognised standard.
The government has also advised that construction workers should wear face coverings for the same reasons outlined by the Construction Leadership Council.
The government guidance on PPE face coverings remains unchanged and states that the precautionary use of PPE to protect against COVID-19 should not be encouraged outside of clinical settings and should be reserved for those that need them such as healthcare workers and those in industrial settings that are exposed to dust hazards.
This announcement comes in response to many construction firms asking for advice on whether constructions workers should wear face coverings when on site.
The Health and Safety Executive states that face coverings are intended to protect others, not the wearer and if workers choose to wear face coverings employers must support their decision. The risk of COVID infection at work must be managed by following the right controls, including:
- Social distancing or reducing the number of people in the work area
- High standards of hand hygiene
- Increasing surface washing
- Assigning and keeping people to shift teams
- Using screens and barriers to separate people from each other