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Housing workers raise concerns over ‘non-essential’ work and social distancing
Some maintenance workers in the social housing sector have flagged concerns about organisations’ interpretation of what constitutes essential work and social distancing protocols.
Workers at housing association One Manchester and the contractor Mears have raised concerns after being asked to come into work, despite feeling some jobs are not currently essential and could be stopped during the coronavirus pandemic.
The concerns shed light on the issues facing many organisations and individuals in the sector as they look to define what services are essential and how staff should be protected as they undertake work.
Inside Housing has been made aware of staff being asked to come and work at One Manchester’s Quattro House depot to carry out tasks such as cleaning out vans, while also being told to complete online training courses in the depot if there is no work.
One worker raised concerns with Inside Housing around social distancing and said that despite the association running an emergency repairs only service for its residents, bricklayers, painters, plasterers and cleaners were still being asked to come into work, with as many as 20 people at the depot at one time. In some cases those not carrying out emergency repairs have been asked to ready voids or assist with the construction of a new storage facility at the depot.
Responding to Inside Housing, Anna Bishop, executive director of customer services at One Manchester, said appropriate measures have been introduced in the depot to ensure social distancing, adding that colleagues have been discouraged from attending the depot unless absolutely necessary.
It added that One Manchester is only carrying out emergency repairs and essential safety compliance checks in tenanted properties and are only working on void properties where social distancing is possible, with these voids being used for urgent hospital and temporary accommodation discharges.
Current government guidance for social landlords is that only essential repairs work should be carried out by maintenance teams, while strict social distancing should be applied at all times.
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The union Unite said members employed by Mears on contracts with Crawley Council and East Kent Housing, felt their health was being placed at risk as they were being asked to work in areas without proper social distancing measures.
One Mears employee told Inside Housing they had been instructed to carry out electrical checks in corridors that were not wide enough to ensure an appropriate distance was kept between them and residents.
The worker said: “A lot of us don’t want to be in people’s houses, we don’t feel safe, we’ve got families. They haven’t even asked us if anyone’s got underlying health issues or our family members have.”
A representative from Mears said all of its branches were carrying out essential work and that it is guided by its clients in relation to what is essential.
Crawley Council and East Kent Housing said Mears was only carrying out essential repairs, statutorily required repairs or work on empty properties.
Keith Simpson, chair of the Direct Works Forum, which represents associations and councils that deliver their own repairs and maintenance works, said: “We believe we should suspend everything other than emergency works, and that is dire emergency.
“This is providing we can provide the PPE [personal protective equipment] to send them out safely. If you can’t, you can’t do it, end of story. You do not put people’s lives at risk.”
However, Mr Simpson added that the message from the government and the Health and Safety Executive on what constitutes essential work has been “ambiguous”.
Ian Woodland, national officer for construction at Unite, said: "It is essential that strict social distancing is maintained at all times.
“Unite does not believe that this can be achieved through a business as normal approach and workers should never enter a tenant’s home except to undertake emergency repairs and only then when all measures to prevent contact have been put in place.”
Full responses
Anna Bishop, executive director of customer services at One Manchester said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority.
“We have issued clear guidance to all colleagues on the steps to be taken to maintain social distancing, and appropriate measures have been introduced at Quattro House in accordance with Government guidelines to reinforce and support social distancing.
“We have ensured that our operational managers are working on a rota for attendance. Colleagues have also been discouraged from attending Quattro House unless absolutely necessary, and those that still choose to attend should maintain social distancing at all times. We’re encouraged by how our colleagues have been adhering to these guidelines in this challenging time.
“We also have amended our operating procedures in relation to our materials store on-site at Quattro House, to maintain social distancing, encouraging colleagues to only attend the materials store if absolutely necessary, only attend at the stated time or when you have been advised your order is ready and aim to stay at least two metres away from colleagues while speaking to them or when picking up your order.
“We are following the Government advice closely, including the guidelines on colleagues only attending work if it is safe to do so, if they cannot work from home, and where social distancing can be maintained, in order to keep people working.
“We are only carrying out emergency repairs and essential safety compliance checks in tenanted properties, and we are only working on void properties where social distancing is possible and maintained in order to support the need for urgent hospital and temporary accommodation discharges. PPE is being provided for all colleagues on the front line and we are keeping regular checks on the supply of this.”
A Mears spokesperson said: "All of our branches are carrying out essential works only and we have a robust audit process to ensure that this is the case.
"We are guided by our clients in relation to what is essential, and this is often dictated by the tenant’s personal circumstances. We simply cannot leave people without heating, gas, electricity or water. But what is essential is much broader. Mending a light switch might not seem essential at the time, but for someone who is going to be living in that space for a very long time without the luxury of going out, it could make a real difference.
"People – especially the most vulnerable have been told to shield themselves from harm and this could be for up to three months or more. As one of the country’s largest repairs and maintenance providers it is crucial we ensure that they are able to live in homes that are in good repair.
"This will mean attending to jobs with communal access and we ask that our teams use the risk audits we have issued, based on Government and Public Health England guidelines.
"All employees have been instructed to follow social distancing measures and to speak to us if they have a problem."
A Crawley Council spokesperson said: “Mears staff are only carrying out emergency repairs, some statutorily required repairs, and some works to empty properties.
"The empty properties work is to ensure we have some properties available for emergency rehousing, for example for cases such as domestic violence or fire damage.
“The statutorily required works include emergency lighting, stairwell lights, and fire alarms in our communal blocks, testing and maintenance of emergency lights systems, fire alarm and gas safety checks. The communal area work is where we have a fire risk obligation; it remains priority health and safety work to ensure the safety of our residents.
“Having reviewed our obligations and taking account of current government guidance we believe we must continue to commission this work.”
An East Kent Housing spokesperson said: "Coronavirus is having a major impact on all our lives and the way we work but the safety of staff and residents is our top priority.
"We will continue to work with our contractors to ensure the government's rules on social distancing are stuck to.
"This includes encouraging residents to stay at least two metres away and preferably staying in another room while work takes place inside a property. Work can safely continue outside a property as long as the appropriate measures are in place.
"On top of this, we are carrying out safety checks with tenants in advance to understand their current health and their vulnerability to the disease.
"Where it is safe to do so, our contractor Mears are operating a reduced repairs service, ensuring social-distancing rules are followed. Gas Call is only undertaking essential gas appliance checks and repairs to heating and hot water systems."
