Keep your team and workplace safe

What is a health and safety screening or checklist?

A health and safety screening, also sometimes referred to as a health and safety checklist, is a way to screen for symptoms related to the Coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19. Maintaining a screening strategy is crucial to enforcing health and safety practices in the workplace. 

Safety screenings can also be helpful in other areas of your business. In order to maintain safe workplaces, businesses with high occupational hazards such as workplace injury or illness risks have injury prevention programs (also known as safety programs)  in place to maintain occupational health and safety and increase the wellness of their work environment. 

Doing so not only promotes a safe and healthy workplace, but also decreases the risk of worker’s compensation claims. Worker’s compensation claims can be costly, and you also do not want anyone to be hurt or injured. Be sure to enforce your safety training to prevent any issues. 

Why is a Coronavirus screening needed?

The Coronavirus screening for employees is required in some states for small businesses to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.These businesses include but are not limited to dine-in restaurants, bars, and cafes. 

A screening such as the one Homebase offers can act as an easy health inspection checklist for any of your employees scheduled for that day’s shift. This way you can ensure both your workforce and your customers that you are doing everything you can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while reopening your business. 

Speaking of your customers, if you have publicized policies on what you’re doing in terms of health and safety, adding to the list the fact that you screen your employees before shifts is a great way to give them peace of mind if they are weary about returning to your establishment due to the virus. 

Who is the health and safety checklist for?

Restaurants, bars, and cafes as well as other small businesses that are reopening as shelter in place restrictions lift should use a COVID-19 checklist. The health and safety checklist should be used by employees before they start their shift.

All employees should use the checklist screening tool. It’s important to make sure everyone working on a certain shift is healthy enough to be at your workplace. This is to prevent the spread of the virus among both your other employees and the customers you serve. 

Even if you do not have a customer-facing business but have many employees working the same shift, make sure to use the tool. After all, the health and safety of your team is just as important, even if they aren’t communicating with your customers on a face-to-face basis. 

The COVID-19 checklist is not intended to be used for your customers, however there are some states with policies regarding temperature checks for customers entering your business. Be sure to check with your state and local authorities to learn more about what you have to do in order to stay compliant. 

Your state may also require both your customers and your employees to wear personal protective equipment in order to work or be in your establishment. Pay attention to those guidelines as well.

How does the employee safety screening work?

Employees will answer a survey of health questions asking if they have COVID-19 related symptoms. The Homebase safety checklist allows managers to create their own questions or use default questions. 

Key features of the health and safety checklist now offered by Homebase include daily reporting across your entire team. This way you’ll be up to speed on which employees are healthy and able to work. 

If an employee does not pass the screening, you or your managers will be notified in real time. You will be able to make the decision on whether or not that employee should work the shift due to the breach in your safety requirement. Employee safety is your number one responsibility when reopening. 

One of the most convenient aspects of our screening checklist is that you can use the questions you want. Our questions are customizable, which means you can select the questions that comply best with your state and local regulations. 

The questions are even more customizable in the sense that they can be delivered to your employees in both English and Spanish. That way you can deliver the screenings to more employees if you have a more diverse team. 

When should employees take the occupational health and safety checklist?

Employees should complete the Coronavirus health and safety checklist before they start a shift. With Homebase, they can complete this checklist when clocking in on a time clock from whatever device your time clock is on. Getting in the habit of using the screening tool is a great way to promote health and safety practices in the workplace. 

You as the business owner or manager should take the results seriously if an employee does not pass the screening test. Once you’ve reviewed the results and find that there is a health issue going on with the employee, consider requiring that staff member to go home and come back when he or she is feeling better. In fact, your state or local laws might require you to do so. 

Do they have a fever? Are they experiencing a new cough? The screening test (or health and safety checklist) removes the guessing out of how an employee is feeling when starting a shift. You also will not have to worry about seeking out the information yourself, because the employee is notified to speak with a manager about the test before he or she starts work. 

The screening test is also not optional. Employees must take the test when clocking in using the Homebase time clock app on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Android device.