Construction firms are being urged to continue asking their workforce to wear masks while working in enclosed spaces or on busy sites by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC).
As the government rules on social distancing and face masks relax from 19 July, the CLC has updated its guidance on face coverings and is calling on the industry to adopt a consistent approach in line with current government guidance. “The government expects and recommends that face coverings are worn in crowded and enclosed spaces, such as public transport, when people mix with others they don’t normally meet,” says the CLC’s update. “It is recommended the good practices the industry had adopted over the last 18 months are retained,” the CLC said in a statement to the industry.
The statement went on to say that the CLC is advising employers to make face coverings available for staff when they are working in crowded or enclosed spaces but are no longer wearing respiratory protective equipment. The CLC said: “It is expected and recommended that they [face coverings] should be worn.”
As the government is relaxing Coivid rules from 19 July, the CLC said its site operating procedures would remain available as reference documents to offer construction businesses some consistency.
The CLC’s move on mask wearing follows a number of other organisations around the country, including many shops, transport organisations and local mayoralties, announcing that they would stil be expecting people to wear masks in crowded places and on public transport.
Click here to download the latest CLC guidance on the use of face coverings.