A risk-based approach to managing the impact of health and safety hazards allows employers to be more responsive and adopt measures that provide adequate protection for their staff. Under Section 6 (2) of the Safety and Health at Work Act, employers are required to conduct assessments of the risks that may occur as a result of the activities in their workplaces and take adequate steps to control those risks in order to maintain a safe workplace. Barbados Integrated Management Systems (B.I.M.S) consultants developed a risk stratification tool, tailored for businesses, to assist with the management of risks that are associated with the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector engaged B.I.M.S to conduct training on this COVID-19 Toolkit. Two workshops took place on the 25th and 26th July 2022.
The Toolkit takes into account the following risk factors:
- The level of community spread.
- The risk of employee exposure at the workplace or during the execution of work tasks.
- The risk of the employee developing serious complications if infected with COVID19.
The COVID-19 Toolkit and its accompanying documentation are now available to the public and can be downloaded here. For further information, the Occupational Safety and Health Section, Labour Department can be contacted at 535-1524 or [email protected].
