If you are able to safely and legally operate your business during these times and are using commercial COVID-19 testing services for your employees, please be aware that from January 1st 2021 your private testing provider should be accredited solely by UKAS – the UK’s National Accreditation Body.
Previously, COVID-19 testing providers were accredited by UKAS and also registered with CQC – the Care Quality Commission.
However from the start of this year the accreditation scheme has been simplified and all commercial testing services are required to be accredited by, and registered with, UKAS alone. You can find a list of government approved (and UKAS accredited) COVID-19 testing providers here.
Do not use a non-approved supplier as these, although perhaps cheaper, are unregulated and therefore do not guarantee compliance or accurate results.
If you’d like to read more about operating within COVID-Secure guidance and protecting your staff, find a few of our previous articles here and here.
And as always, if you’d like advice on reopening your business or production please get in touch. Whether you need internal training, COVID-19 risk assessments or simply a sounding board, our experienced event safety consultants have been working closely with industry bodies this year to develop guidance and training to help the events industry get safely back on its feet when the time comes. Get in touch!