Coronavirus Business Continuity Statement - Update

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Urbaser Ltd are continually monitoring the potential impact of COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) on its business and is seeing varying levels of impact to all services.

Following the UK Government announcement of a UK Coronavirus plan and the current World Health Organisation (WHO) standard recommendations for the virus, we have implemented the following steps to minimise infection risk to employees and clients.

Prevention

We are advising that all employees closely follow the infection control measures recommended by UK public health agencies. These include:

  • Frequently washing hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

  • When coughing and sneezing, cover the mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue – throw the tissue away immediately and wash hands.

  • Anyone who has a fever, cough or feels unwell or suspects they may have the infection will be asked to contact the NHS services immediately and avoid contact with others until advised on next steps.

  • Those returning from countries on the safe list are not required to quarantine, those returning from somewhere not on the safe list are required to quarantine at home for 14 days.

  • Following company protocols for dealing with waste which could be contaminated.

Updates

We are regularly providing our managers and employees with up to date information on virus prevention and isolation protocols aimed at minimising risk. We are also reviewing business continuity plans, recovery time objectives, work instructions and resource requirements. Recent updates to Urbaser’s practices include:

  • Daily health discussions between management and employees to monitor workforce health and identify employees displaying viral symptoms.

  • The distribution of COVID-19 prevention and awareness literature to employees.

  • COVID 19 Risk Assessments and COSHH Assessments issued to all operational sites.

  • Hand sanitisers made available to all staff.

  • Enhanced cleaning practices for all regularly used surfaces and the disinfection of vehicle cabs.

  • Operational practices, working hours and locations amended to reduce contact between employees.

Monitoring

As a business we are continually monitoring the information and implementing the advice and protocols recommended by UK Government. We are monitoring employee absenteeism levels and are providing regular reports to management and Board members.

We are evaluating the potential effects of any interruption to our business operations and are developing a continuity management programme in conjunction with our clients.

In accordance with the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, we will continue to review our assessment of COVID-19 if and when:

  • There is any reason to suspect that it is no longer fit for purpose;

  • New scientific evidence emerges that demands a significant way in which COVID-19 is tackled.