As you will know, the Government has announced that as of Thursday 24^th February 2022, all existing restrictions and legal requirements in England to prevent the spread of Coronavirus have been removed.

This means:

• People who test positive for COVID will no longer be legally required to self-isolate
• But they will still be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days
• Routine contact tracing will end, so fully vaccinated close contacts and those under 18 will no longer be legally required to test daily for seven days

Additionally, from 1^st April free mass testing will end and people with COVID symptoms will be asked to exercise personal responsibility when deciding whether to stay at home.

These are considerable changes to the way we have all lived over the past two years and represent efforts for us to live alongside the virus in future.

Following these announcements, the RRT has discussed the updates together and agreed what the business’s approach will be moving forward. As ever, we wish to take a cautious approach that will allow us to best protect those in our business and communities who are at increased risk from Coronavirus.

Therefore, from Friday 25^th February, we ask our employees in England to follow this guidance:

• If you are at increased risk from the virus, please speak to your Line Manager who will ensure an individual risk assessment and relevant control measures are in place – while respecting any medical confidentiality.
• The mask and move policy at our sites is now relaxed, but please continue to wear these in congested areas and in line with the requirements of any specific risk assessments, or where you feel they are appropriate.
• Please continue to self-test two times a week. If you test positive or are symptomatic for Coronavirus (displaying a high temperature, a new continuous cough or loss of sense of taste or smell) please remain at home as you have been for five days. After five days, when you have received two negative lateral flow tests in a row, 24 hours apart, you can return to work.
  • Positive cases of Coronavirus should still be reported to the Health & Safety team in line with the current process
• Any posters displaying the NHS COVID-19 QR code to encourage ‘checking in’ can now be removed.
• Remember that the risk of the virus has not disappeared and continue to follow public health guidance around hand washing and sanitising, ventilation (including CO2 monitors in meeting rooms) and cleanliness.

We would like employees to follow this guidance until the end of March; the RRT will review these requirements in the later part of March, when we should be able to assess the impact of restrictions easing on national figures.

In terms of our office locations that have been closed; there are now up to 100 people in the Rugby Office on a daily basis and there are no plans to open this location up further at this time. Plans are being drawn up for our other hub offices and will be communicated separately. Please continue to work as you are currently until advised otherwise.

If you have any questions, please speak to your Line Manager or a member of the RRT.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to keeping our people and those we come into contact with safe.

Note: for our employees in Wales, please continue to follow local guidance