England has now moved to Plan B, in response to the risks of Omicron variant. New guidance now applies:
- From 10 December, face coverings will be required by law in most indoor settings, other than hospitality venues.
- From 13 December office workers who can work from home should do so.
- From 15 December, certain venues and events will be required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated, have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or have an exemption.
Self Isolation
If you’re a contact of someone who may have been infected with the Omicron variant, you must self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of your age, vaccination status or any negative test results.
View all the current government guidance online.
Travel guidance is continuing to change – including testing and red lists. Please see all up to date guidance here.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We have collected resources, safe workplace guidance and information on the latest support opportunities below. Scroll down, or click the links below to view the relevant information. You may also want to visit our latest news page.
Furlough
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has now ended.
Safe Workplace & Staying Covid-Secure
Find up to date guidance on keeping your business Covid-secure on the Government website here.
Risk Assessments
Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive on how to undertake a Risk Assessment for your businesses, Health and Safety law, and practical tips for managing risk in your business. Read more here.
Workplace Surveillance Testing
You may be able to request Lateral Flow Tests for your staff. This helps to identify people who are not showing symptoms for coronavirus but are infectious. You can register for Workplace Surveillance Testing, which helps businesses provide symptom-free testing in the workplace, and keep your staff safe and well.
NHS Test & Trace
If you are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS Covid-19 app, you may be eligible for a payment up to £500 from your local authority through the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme. More information on the scheme here.
Business Toolkits, including posters, tips for dealing with media enquiries, and more.
Norfolk County Council Business Toolkit
Your safety is our priority and we want to keep our city as safe as possible. The Norfolk County Council has released two business toolkits to help you reopen your business safely this summer. Translated materials for staff or customers who do not speak English as their first language are also included.
- Toolkit for businesses - issue 1 - how you can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus on your premises
- Toolkit for businesses - issue 2 - how NHS Test and Trace works and reporting a suspected outbreak
Wellbeing
The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have put pressure on everybody. It is important to take care of your mental health. Here are some resources which might help.
Government guidance for public mental health and wellbeing
Advice and information on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Government guidance on supporting children and young people
Advice for parents and carers on looking after the mental health and wellbeing of children or young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
PrOPEL Hub
The PrOPEL Hub is a major new initiative designed to help boost productivity – and wellbeing – through supporting the growth of better workplaces in the UK. It involves partners from universities across the UK and the CIPD. It aims to provide practical lessons, ideas and tool-kits for businesses to draw upon, all informed by the very latest research and evidence.
What Works Centre for Wellbeing
An independent collaborating centre with a mission to develop and share robust, accessible and useful evidence that governments, businesses, communities and people use to improve wellbeing across the UK.
Mental Health in the workplace
Keep in touch
How you can keep updated:
- Keep in touch on social media. Follow Norwich BID on Twitter and Instagram
- Stay up to date with our news page where we'll be publishing latest information and guidance for the business community
- Sign up for the Norwich BID ebulletin which summarises important information for Norwich businesses.
- Contact the Norwich BID team for further information and support – see contact details below.
Key Norwich BID Contacts:
Please contact us via the emails below and a member of staff will be happy to call you back directly.
Promoting Norwich – for general marketing, social media and VisitNorwich queries and updates: Isabel Johnson, Head of Marketing, isabel.johnson@norwichbid.co.uk
Norwich Experience – for Norwich BID supported events and City Hosts: Martin Blackwell, Head of Operations, martin.blackwell@norwichbid.co.uk
Voice of Business - for ALERT, 2 Seas project, city centre WiFi and operations: Martin Blackwell, Head of Operations, martin.blackwell@norwichbid.co.uk
For any other enquiry, please contact info@norwichbid.co.uk