COVID-19: Our response

This is a changing situation and we are being guided by the best practice advice available from the World Health Organisation, the UK Government and the UK National Health Service (NHS) on how to best respond.

Our leadership team meet daily to understand any changes in Government guidance but also to discuss how the business needs to respond to both this guidance but also any other factors that may be changing. This Business Continuity meeting is chaired by our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ross Holliday.

Based on the guidance of the UK Government we introduced a policy of enabling all members of staff who can work remotely to do so.  We are using technology based solutions to enable remote workers to keep in touch with their colleagues and customers, as well as to continue their day to day activities.

In our manufacturing sites we are focused on ensuring our production operations continue at pre-COVID-19 levels whilst maintaining the safety of our employees. To achieve this we are working closely with our management team and our employees to modify their working hours, with the aim of reducing the amount of people on site at any one time. We have also reviewed our operating procedures to ensure that our teams can follow social distancing best practice where possible.

We have put in place stringent sanitation controls within our sites. This includes the distribution of cleaning containment gels combined with increased cleaning of communal touchpads / high touch areas. All employees have been advised on the best practice of regular handwashing and to follow the advice of the NHS if they consider themselves to be at risk. We have also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to our staff for situations when they have to work in close proximity to colleagues.

We have also ensured that our teams, whether working onsite or working remotely, have access to a range of information to best support their mental health and wellbeing. All employees also have access to an external advisory service which they can access for free.

In line with the UK Government’s “Working safely during COVID-19 in factories, plants and warehouses” Guidance, we have signed and published our “Staying COVID-19 Secure in 2020” declaration to our employees along with a copy of our Risk Assessment.