COVID-19 Policy

Covid-19 Policy (V5)
Incspaces are closely monitoring the situation regarding the COVID19 Coronavirus.
This policy details the company’s response to government announcements, actions are taken to follow guidance whilst subsequently ensuring further spread of the virus is controlled.
You are encouraged to exercise caution and consider the risks.
While no situation is risk free, there are actions we can take to protect ourselves and others around us.

General information relating to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
What is the coronavirus?
A coronavirus is a virus that can be transmitted from person to person. Typical symptoms include fever, headaches, loss of taste / smell, a persistent cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
Generally, a coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.
COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which spreads between people, mainly when an infected person is in close contact with another person and spread worldwide. This is a rapidly changing situation which is being monitored carefully.
How is coronavirus spread?
The main way of spreading Covid-19 is through close contact with an infected person. When someone with Covid-19 breathes, speaks, coughs or sneezes, they release particles (droplets and aerosols) containing the virus. These particles can be breathed in by another person.
Surfaces and belongings can also be contaminated with Covid-19 when people who are infected cough or sneeze near the or if they touch them.
How to avoid catching infections like coronavirus
You can reduce your risk of getting and spreading respiratory infections by:
• avoiding direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth
• maintaining good hand hygiene – washing hands with soap and water or alcohol handsanitiser:
• after coughing or sneezing
• after going to the toilet
• before eating and drinking
• avoiding direct contact with people that have a respiratory illness and avoiding using their personal items such as their mobile phone
• covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with disposable tissues and disposing of them in the nearest waste bin after use

Building and Workspace Guidance
Reducing Contact
There is no government requirement or recommendation for employers to limit capacity in the workplace. Where possible, Incspaces encourages the following mitigations.
• Avoid spending time in crowded places or in groups.
• Encourage lift users to consider others when entering lifts, people with disabilities have priority access to lifts.
• Use back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible.
• Reduce the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others).
• Where it is not possible to move workstations further apart, arranging people to work side by side or facing away from each other rather than face-to-face.
• Take account of the impact on those with protected characteristics and if any reasonable adjustments are to be made.
Face coverings
It is the individual’s choice whether to wear face coverings.
Use of Welfare / Kitchen/ Shower Facilities
The following controls have been implemented in all Incspaces buildings:
• Hand sanitising stations are available to use throughout the building.
• Shower users are asked to clean touch points before and after use with cleaning equipment supplied.
Business Travel, Meetings and Events
Incspaces encourages the following mitigations.
• Make use of video conferencing, unless a face-to-face meeting is required
• Incspaces bookable meeting rooms are cleaned twice a day.
• Meeting rooms are locked and are to be prebooked and should not be used otherwise.
Incspaces encourages the following:
• Undertake regular good personal hygiene procedures, using hot water and soap to
wash hands.
• Cough/sneeze into your sleeve, preferably into your elbow. If you use a tissue, discard it properly and clean/sanitise your hands immediately.
• Hand sanitiser is readily available throughout the building and should be used regularly.
• Use of personal hand sanitiser should NOT replace good personal hygiene and operatives should continue to wash their hands where possible.
• Incspaces staff and clients must adhere to the Incspaces Clean Desk Policy- All desks should be cleared at the end of the day, except for monitors and laptop stands. All documents or IT peripherals should be stored away where possible.

General hygiene
Our buildings are cleaned on weekdays. Communal touch points, kitchen and toilet facilitiesare cleaned during the day and the evening clean includes all areas including offices.
The Cleaning Operatives use EN14476 standard products proven to kill 99.99% of enveloped viruses (such as COVID-19) and non-enveloped viruses within minutes of contact.
Customer Facing Staff
Please be aware of the following procedures in place for customer facing Incspaces staff:
• Incspaces staff are required to wear face coverings in communal/public areas (unless exempt). Staff will ask visitors to wear a mask when entering the building.
• Incspaces staff will turn away people with coronavirus symptoms. If a staff member (or someone in their household) or a visitor/occupant has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell, they should be isolating.
• Encourage visitors to use hand sanitiser or handwashing facilities as they enter the premises.
Ventilation and Air Conditioning
• Incspaces are working to enhance HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) standards to align with local industry best practices. However, as operational oversight and systems vary by building, our approach to implementation differs on a locationby-location basis.
• Natural ventilation is provided through open windows, or through other means such as vents. However, fire doors should not be propped open.
• It is important not to completely close windows and doors when the area is occupied as this can result in very low levels of ventilation.
Contractors, Suppliers and Deliveries
• Contractors carry out a building induction before commencing work, which includes
Covid-19 building controls.
Suspected and Confirmed Covid-19 cases
Know the symptoms
If an individual becomes unwell and has COVID-19 symptoms (new continuous cough, fever, new loss of taste or smell) they should be sent home or advised to stay at home and order a PCR test. Individuals are advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people whilst waiting for the test result. This advice should also be followed for a positive Lateral Flow
Device (LFD) test result, even without symptoms.
Other symptoms linked with COVID-19 include shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle ache, sore throat, headache, stuffy or runny nose, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting.

Stay at home
COVID-19 is infectious from 2 days before symptoms start, and for up to 10 days after. Many people will no longer be infectious to others after 5 days.
Individuals may choose to take an LFD test from 5 days after symptoms started (or the day your test was taken if no symptoms) followed by another LFD test the next day. If both these
test results are negative with no high temperature, the risk of still being infectious is much lower and therefore, can safely return to normal routine. If the day 5 LFD test result is positive, individuals can continue taking LFD tests until receiving 2 consecutive negative test results.
Avoid meeting people at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell from COVID-19, especially those with a severely weakened immune system, for the 10 days after symptoms started (or the day the test was taken without symptoms).
Covid-19 is classified as RIDDOR and requires reporting with cases of, or deaths from, occupational exposure, that is, as a result of a person’s work.
Training and Guidance
• Incspaces staff receive Covid-19 training and guidance as appropriate.
Risk Assessments
• Covid-19 building risk assessments are carried out. Either at regular intervals, or due to changes in guidance or circumstances. This includes individual assessments for vulnerable/pregnant workers.
Compliance
• Non-compliance or breach of this policy may result in result in termination of employment or contract