Advice in Scotland
3 April: New information to clarify instances where the advice for Scotland differs from the advice being issued by Westminster. Includes site closure recommendations and whose children can still attend school.
Updated Site Operating Procedures
2 April: CLC have issued an updated version of their Site Operating Procedures to be observed during the coronovirus outbreak. Following concerns raised by NFRC and other bodies, this revised guidance has been withdrawn and until further notice the industry should continue to comply with version 1 of the Site Operating Procedures.
Flexibility Around CSCS Cards
31 March: Information from Construction Skills Certification Scheme regarding impact of COVID-19 on CSCS cards and recommended temporary measures for sites.
Furloughed Employees
31 March: Updated advice on the new HMRC job retention scheme intended to prevent people being made redundant.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-employment Income Support Scheme
27 March: the Government announced a scheme that provides a grant to the self-employed or those in a partnership worth 80% of an individual’s trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next three months. See our Financial Advice page for details.
Work carried out in people's homes
26 March: HM Government advised:
Work carried out in people’s homes, for example by tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance, can continue, provided that the tradesperson is well and has no symptoms.
Again, it will be important to ensure that Public Health guidelines, including maintaining a two-metre distance from any household occupants, are followed to ensure everyone’s safety.
No work should be carried out in any household which is isolating or where an individual is being shielded, unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household, such as emergency plumbing or repairs, and where the tradesperson is willing to do so. In such cases, Public Health England can provide advice to tradespeople and households.
No work should be carried out by a tradesperson who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild.
24 March: On BBC Breakfast time Michael Gove said construction should continue on site so long as social-distancing measures were followed. On Good Morning Britain, Mr Gove provided further detail, saying that when a site is empty, construction workers could carry on, providing they adhere to social distancing. However, he said that if the repairs and maintenance of existing buildings where there are already families living in, they should not be having works done and workers should not be entering the site.
Some developers have taken the decision to close their sites. For the sites that are continuing to operate, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published Site Operating Procedures during the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic,developed by Build UK, to implement the Government’s social distancing requirements and minimise the risk of spread of infection. The NFRC recommends any contractor continuing to operate to implement these procedures to minimise the spread of the COVID-19 virus.