Can I have a tradesperson in my home during lockdown?

Please be aware: as this is an ever-changing situation, guidance may be updated or amended at any time. Information in this article was accurate as of 14 November 2020. See government guideance for working in other people’s homes here. 

We look at the considerations you should be taking to keep your household safe should you have a home emergency during the lockdown in England.

 Is a tradesperson allowed to enter my home? 

Yes. Those who need to visit other people’s homes for their work can continue to do so.

However, the most important question to ask yourself is, is the work essential? If it can wait, then it should. The best way to limit the risk is to postpone the work if it is non-essential.

 Have symptoms or isolating?  

No work should be carried out in a household which is isolating because one or more family members has symptoms or where an individual has been advised to shield – unless it is to remedy a direct risk to the safety of the household. This includes emergency plumbing or repairs.

You should let a trader or engineer know the situation in advance about any vulnerable people in your home so they can make appropriate measures.

If you or anyone in the household has symptoms of coronavirus, you need to follow government guidelines on self-isolation.

If the work must go-ahead, vulnerable people in your home should further isolate by staying in a different room, separated from the rest of the household, while work is underway.

Clinically vulnerable or over 70? 

Make sure you let the trades person know in advance if there is someone who is clinically vulnerable, but has not been asked to shield, for example, someone over 70, within your household.

Prior arrangements should be made with vulnerable people to avoid any face-to-face contact, for example, when answering the door.

Anyone entering your home should be particularly strict about handwashing, coughing and sneezing hygiene, such as covering your nose and mouth and disposing of single-use tissues.

Follow social distancing

Make sure you give the engineer or tradesperson a safe amount of space to work while they are in your home.

It may not always be possible to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable) when works are being carried out in your home. If this is the case, then extra attention should be paid to equipment, cleaning and hygiene to reduce risk.

You can help by:

• – Waiting in another room or going outside while works are being carried out

• – Opening doors and windows in the room that is being worked in

• – Leaving internal doors open to minimise contact with door handles

– Minimise movement within areas where people in your household are likely to travel to, from or through, like stairs and corridors

Here at PlusHeat, we continue to follow the latest government guidance for people working in other people’s homes closely during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to ensure we are doing our bit to serve and protect our customers, PlusHeat engineers and the general public.

We’ve put together some FAQ’s which you can check out here.