Welcome to the LondonDerry Chamber of Commerce
Category:
Members News
Date:
29th April 2021
The Department for Health has announced the expansion of its Workforce Testing Programme to all organisations with 10 or more employees or volunteers. This had previously been restricted to organisations with more than 50.
Employers wishing to participate in workforce testing schemes should complete an online expression of interest, which can be accessed via the LINK
When applying, employers will need to provide details of the following:
Businesses with less than 10 employees
Provisions has also been made to enable small businesses or organisations with 10 or less employees who cannot work from home to access rapid LFD (Lateral Flow Device) tests where appropriate. The range of options will be expanding over the coming weeks, but currently includes an LFD Collect service from Local Testing Sites and a Home Delivery Service.
Small businesses and people working from home can access testing through the following options:
Benefits of the Testing Programme to employers:
As the number of cases of Covid-19 in the community continues to fall, asymptomatic workplace testing forms part of the Executive’s strategy to suppress the virus as lockdown measures start to relax.
Asymptomatic testing can help to protect staff, give confidence to those who continue to come back into work as well as improving the overall resilience of business operations. This Programme will also play a vital role in trying to prevent outbreaks of Covid-19 in certain work sites which have been disrupted by the spread of the virus.
Government support for workforce testing
There is a range of support available for NI organisations to introduce workforce testing, including:
Responsibility of employers
Approved organisations will sign a contract with the DHSC. Under the terms of the contract:
For further information, including answers to FAQs, please visit the LINK