Workplace welfare facilities and healthy working environment
Ventilation in the workplace
Your business has a legal duty to provide a healthy working environment for your workers. This includes ensuring good ventilation. This means a fresh, clean air supply should be drawn from outside or a ventilation system.
Good ventilation is widely recognised to reduce the risk of airborne transmission, particularly in enclosed areas.
You should look at ways to improve your ventilation system and increase the supply of fresh air where you work.
What is the risk of poor ventilation?
Respiratory infections can spread through airborne particles and droplets that enter the respiratory system.
Tiny airborne particles can remain in the air for longer and can travel further than droplets. In poorly ventilated spaces, airborne particles can remain in the air for hours, leading to viral particles spreading between people.
See identifying poorly ventilated areas and how to take an assessment of fresh air in the workplace.
Mobile and home-based ventilation measures
Close contact providers who operate on a mobile basis, including working in other peoples’ homes, may wish to ask clients to prepare their premises in advance of appointments. You should consider and discuss the best ways in which to work safely for both yourself and your clients.
Steps to improve ventilation in your clients' premises include:
- opening doors and windows
- keeping trickle vents open (usually found at the top of window frames) and ensuring vents are not blocked
- regular airing of a room for short periods, eg 10 minutes per hour can be effective at reducing concentrations of virus in the air
- leaving extractor fans running in bathrooms and kitchens with the door closed
Ventilation in vehicles
Enclosed vehicles including cars, vans, and buses can also be high-risk. It is important that vehicles used by your business are well-ventilated.