Introduction
This guidance is designed to be relevant for businesses, visitors and people who work within the visitor economy to help prepare for return to work whenever it is safe to do so.
It is designed to help employers, employees and the self-employed in Northern Ireland (NI) understand how to work as safely as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic keeping to the recommended social distancing guidelines.
As of the date of publication, you should maintain a social distance of at least 2m (6ft) between you and anyone outside of your household to minimise exposure to the virus and the potential to spread the infection.
Where 2m is not possible, a minimum of 1m distancing is still safer than close contact if additional mitigating measures are implemented e.g. good hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene practices including the wearing of face coverings or use of screens.
Specific information is provided in Guidance on the Restrictions in Northern Ireland and Public Health Advice
This guidance should be considered and applied in line with the NI Executive’s roadmap for re-opening the Visitor Economy and regulations set out under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020
This guidance been prepared by the Department for the Economy, in partnership with Tourism NI, with input from the NI Tourism Recovery Working Group and in consultation with Public Health Agency (PHA) and the Health and Safety Executive NI (HSENI), key
Executive Departments and has been shared with trade unions.
The Guidance takes account of UK Government guidance being developed by the Department for Culture, Music and Sport (DCMS) in partnership with the Visitor
Economy Working Group. It has been prepared to reflect NI public health and safety requirements and legislation. It also takes into consideration best practice outlined within the ‘COVID-19 Working Through this Together Guidance’ produced by the NI Engagement Forum: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/coronavirusworkplace-safety-guidance-and-priority-sector-list
This document is one of a set of guidance documents about how to work safely in different types of workplace. It should be read in conjunction with sectoral specific guidance listed within.
Businesses and trade bodies should review their material regularly against the latest NI Executive guidance to ensure it is compliant with core requirements. .
We expect that this document will be updated over time. This version is up to date as of 11 September 2020. You can check for updates at https://covid19.tourismni.com/businesssupport