Publication
Transitional Protocol: Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
On 21 January the government announced the easing of restrictive measures, with a continued strong focus on personal protective behaviours based on individual and sectoral risk assessments over the coming period.
The Transitional Protocol: Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19, a revision of the Work Safely Protocol, reflects the lessons learned to date and places a greater emphasis on guidance and best practice to support the safe return to physical attendance in the workplace.
This guidance is a general document applicable to all sectors. It is not designed to prohibit the introduction of specific measures in particular sectors or workplaces. On foot of the latest public health and government advice and this guidance document, all businesses and sectors who have specific guidance should review and update their own guidance in line with the advice contained herein. It should also be noted that employers, in consultation with their workers, may also consider maintaining some of the practices that were introduced of the Work Safely Protocol, as last published on 14 January 2022.
This Transitional Protocol continues to be a collaborative effort by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), Health and Safety Authority (HSA), Health Services Executive (HSE) and Department of Health. The update also follows discussion and agreement at the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), which is the forum for high-level dialogue between government, trade union and employer representatives on matters related to the labour force. This work has also been overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The HSA has updated its work safely checklists and templates to correspond with the guidance in the Transitional Protocol. New documents include a new Response Plan template, a number of employer and worker checklists and a new Lead Work Representative checklist.
