UK institutions prepare to make labs safe for those who cannot work from home
UK universities and laboratories are preparing to make their facilities safe for researchers to return as the government announced an easing of lockdown restrictions this week.
On 11 May, the cabinet office published a “Covid-19 recovery strategy” outlining measures to ease the current lockdown, including allowing people who cannot work from home to travel to work. This includes those conducting scientific research in laboratories.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has also published specific guidance for working safely in labs and research facilities. The document states that all employers must carry out a Covid-19 risk assessment and take preventative measures to reduce the risk of infection.
A spokesman for the Russell Group of research-intensive universities told Research Professional News that members were considering the guidance individually, depending on other staffing decisions and on how well they can meet social-distancing guidance.
The individual universities seem to be taking a cautious approach, despite the government saying that scientific research in laboratories “should be open” and that “all workers who cannot work from home should travel to work if their workplace is open”.
Emma Flynn, pro vice-chancellor for research and enterprise at Queen’s University Belfast, said only a small number of the university’s laboratories were in use for Covid-19-related research.
“We haven’t opened any more since the announcement, but we are preparing the estate for people who can’t work from home to re-enter their work space—this is mostly within labs,” she told Research Professional News.
“We’ll only be allowing staff back onsite when it is safe to do so, and we will be following social-distancing guidance, along with all other measures to keep our staff safe.”
The University of Southampton said it had been “preparing for the time when some people can return to work on our campuses”, but did not say when this would be.
“We have said to staff that we will only start to allow small numbers of staff to return to our campuses when we are confident it is safe to do so, by ensuring strict social-distancing measures and enhanced surface disinfecting,” a spokesman said.
The University of York said it was encouraging staff to continue to work from home “wherever possible” but that it has a “process for considering exceptional requests for access to facilities”.
Imperial College London is also taking a cautious approach.
According to a document circulated among staff and students at Imperial on 11 May, seen by Research Professional News, the university said “a balance must be struck between the need and desire to restart research, while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of staff and students is prioritised”.
It states that priority should be given to PhD students and research staff who require access to laboratories over those who can “reasonably conduct work remotely”.
The university also urges additional support for clinical fellows who are “returning from an intense period of pressurised work”.
“Some staff may not be working at full strength on their return and may feel anxious about the disruption to their research projects,” the document said. “It needs to be clear that we understand this and will support them in working towards normalisation.”
Clinical trial activity, the university notes, “will take far longer to get back up and running than other laboratory work”. While projects including animals “could also take longer to get back to normal operations”.
A PhD student at Imperial in molecular microbiology, who did not wish to be named, said that pending health and safety approval his building would be reopening on 1 June, though with limited capacity and extended opening hours.
“My main concern is public transport in, and future costs if I need some sort of costed extension,” he told Research Professional News. “Whilst I am supportive of opening up the centre for longer hours to enable some sort of shift work, this would require a rethink of health and safety concerns such as lone working, and how this would fit with a work-life balance.”