Our COVID-19 Response
The safety and well-being of our employees is a key priority for us. That’s why we’ve put additional measures in place to provide a safe working environment since the onset of COVID-19. These include:
providing free face masks and hand sanitiser for employees to use in the office
enhancing the cleaning of our workplaces
supplying free RATs to all employees
providing free onsite flu and COVID-19 vaccinations to employees
Our peoples' mental wellbeing
The pandemic has disrupted daily life and, at times, forced our people into isolation away from friends, family and colleagues. It has presented some real challenges and impacted people’s mental health. In addition to the physical safety measures, we also continue to provide free, independent and confidential access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to support our people’s mental health and wellbeing. Employees can access the service to discuss a wide range of topics relating to both personal and work situations.Communicating with our people through COVID-19
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Executive Team has committed to regularly communicating with our people to keep them informed of updates and changes. Whether that be through Chief Executive communications, all staff webinar briefings or internal intranet content, our people have access to the latest information. In a 2021 HSS Employee Engagement Survey, more than 80% of our people said they felt well-informed by HSS about the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation.Internal contact tracing of COVID-positive employees
In 2022, with the rapid spread of COVID-19 in our community, we set up an internal contact tracing process to quickly identify, assess and inform close contacts in our workplaces who may have been exposed to a colleague who had tested positive. A dedicated team uses this process to help reduce the risk of employees spreading COVID-19 in the workplace and to keep our people safe. A focus on supporting employee physical and mental wellbeing throughout their isolation period is a main priority during this time.Flexible working
Flexible working has become the new normal at HSS since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s enabled our people to take a balanced approach to working from home and in their workplace, ultimately helping our team keep safe and healthy while also improving engagement and productivity in many areas of the organisation.
Last Updated:
12/01/2023