The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development has issued guidelines for the safe return of employees to their places of work.
All non-essential workers have been working from home for the past few weeks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Now guidelines have been issued to start reintroducing the workforce back into offices in the coming weeks.
The guidelines have been created to help businesses “ensure workplace health and safety and support employee needs”.
.@AbuDhabiDED has issued new guidelines for businesses to ensure workplace health & safety and to support employee needs, in line with preventative measures imposed by Abu Dhabi Emergency and Crisis Committee for the Covid-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/cqPqN4IwmJ
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According to the guidelines, those who can effectively carry on their jobs working remotely are encouraged to continue to do so.
In addition, all employers are required to allow parents to work from home while schools are closed and no pressure or penalties may be imposed on any employee who is not eligible to return to the workplace.
An attendance cap of 30 percent will also be in place with social distancing between employees and the sanitization of both work and communal spaces.
Eligible workers that can return to the workplace include those between the ages of 18 and 55, those who live alone and those who don’t suffer from chronic illness.
Employees over the age of 55, pregnant women, those living with chronic diseases or with someone age 60 or over, are considered ineligible to return to the workplace.
A number of additional measure have also been announced for those working in retail and construction.
Retail employees must adhere to measures including the use of protective clothing, disinfection gateways, regular testing and reduced contact with customers and fellow employees.
Construction workers are also expected to undergo temperature checks, wear protective clothing, stagger breaks, not share equipment, perform strict social distancing where possible and work on tasks independently.
Abu Dhabi also recently introduced permits for those requiring permission to move during the National Sterilisaton Programme.
A number of repatriation flights have also been announces for residents to return to their home countries.
