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OfficesCoronavirusHealth and safetyLatest NewsHealth & Safety Executive

DWP failed to enforce social distancing at Leeds office

by Ashleigh Webber 11 Sep 2020
by Ashleigh Webber 11 Sep 2020 The DWP's Quarry House office in Leeds. Joe Kirby Photography / Shutterstock
The DWP's Quarry House office in Leeds. Joe Kirby Photography / Shutterstock

The Department for Work and Pensions has failed to enforce social distancing at an office in Leeds, a health and safety inspection has found.

A group of staff were pictured congregating around a desk, not adhering to social distancing guidance, during a recent inspection by officers from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

They visited Quarry House in the east of the city on 27 August after receiving a report of a “workplace concern”. The BBC has reported that two staff at the office have tested positive for Covid-19.

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A report produced following the inspection, which was seen by the BBC, said: “You are failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of your employees/agency staff at work because you have not implemented necessary measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”

Other problems identified in the report included a line manager briefing staff around a desk, with the group not following social distancing; walkways and stairwells being designated for two-way travel despite not being sufficiently wide; walkways passing too closely to usable desks; and breakout areas lacking “do not use” signs.

It said that the DWP had conducted a risk assessment for the office being about 50% full, which the HSE considered “may be ambitious and unrealistic” and risked “congestion”.

An HSE spokesperson said: “We received a workplace concern and this has been processed in line with our concerns handling procedure. Following a site visit, a letter (Notification of Contravention) was sent to DWP.”

The spokesperson told Personnel Today they were unable to reveal further details about the inspection’s findings at this stage.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We take the health and safety of staff extremely seriously and have implemented Covid-secure measures across our sites to ensure they comply with government guidelines.

“We have taken urgent action to rectify all issues identified by the HSE.”

The government has set a target of getting around 80% of civil servants to return to Whitehall by the end of September.

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Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

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