Covid-19 - Temperature Screening Employees

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Regulatory Article

29 October, 2020

John_Pickervance
John Pickervance
Partner and Head of Commercial

As larger proportions of the national workforce have incrementally been returning to the workplace, the issues faced by those industries which have continued to operate during lockdown are coming under greater scrutiny. The most significant of these factors is ensuring that the workplace is COVID-secure for employees and third parties such as visitors or customers. While maintaining social distancing and ensuring sufficient hand-sanitisers are available are now par for the course, some risk assessments may call for greater protective measures to be implemented. Since an elevated temperature is a possible indicator of coronavirus, we have recently seen that several clients, primarily in the manufacturing sector, have introduced temperature screening.

One of our key clients in the manufacturing sector, Bright Blue Foods Limited - recently ranked 155th in the Covid-19 edition of the Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 - instructed the Forbes Employment team to develop policy documentation around the temperature screening procedure in their workplace.

Since obtaining health information about an individual is classified as special category personal data and therefore this information should only be obtained where it is necessary and proportionate, the Employment team collaborated with Forbes' Governance, Procurement and Information team to ensure that the policy and procedure was compliant from a data-protection perspective. It was therefore necessary to prepare, among other documents:

  • A data protection impact assessment;
  • A temperature checking privacy notice; and
  • An employee consent form.

Following completion of the project, Forbes received a glowing testimonial from BBF's Head of HR, Cheryl Charnley who said that "it was great to have input from the different areas of expertise" and that the coordination between the teams had been "seamless". She also added that the documents produced were "thorough, quickly tailored to [their] needs and whilst they were comprehensive, they were also easy to read and understand".

Given that specific arrangements and testing methods in place will vary between organisations, the associated documentation will need to be tailored accordingly.

For more information contact John Pickervance in our Manufacturing & Engineering department via email or phone on 0333 207 1134. Alternatively send any question through to Forbes Solicitors via our online Contact Form.

Learn more about our Manufacturing & Engineering department here

UPDATE: RCOG Occupational health guidance for employers &…

Lockdown 3.0 - Considerations and Implications for Employers

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