Question: What steps should be taken when working in a customer's home?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Government advice on home moving during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
section_headers: Advice to industry
New Build Home Warranty Assessments and claims against the warranty
section_content: Inspectors can carry out warranty assessments on new build properties
including self and custom build. Inspectors should follow public health
guidance on social
distancing and guidance for
working in other people’s homes. Companies should ensure employees
understand how to operate safely and communicate this to customers.

New build warranty providers can continue to provide a normal service to homebuilders and consumers, including site visits and inspections.
No work should be carried out by a person who has coronavirus symptoms, however mild or anyone who has been asked to self-isolate.
Inspectors should contact the household in advance to check that no member of the household is showing symptoms of coronavirus or self-isolating. If they are, works should be delayed.
Where residents are making a claim against their new build warranty, in the first instance they should speak with the warranty provider. Where possible the warranty providers should investigate claims remotely using video or photo evidence. If this is not possible and an inspector needs to visit an occupied property, this should be done by appointment and measures put in place to ensure physical contact is minimised, for example with residents staying in another room during the visit.


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer relates to a customer and client correspondence while listing the steps one should take when entering a customer's home.
This response is specifically about one type of home visit work, but is very detailed.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Acceptable

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Other people's homes
section_headers: 3. Social distancing at work
3.2 Moving around when working in a home
section_content: Objective: To maintain social distancing wherever possible while performing
work in the home.
It is recognised that for providers of some in-home services, it will not
always be possible to maintain physical distance from customers.
If it isn’t possible to maintain social distancing while working in the home
then extra attention needs to be paid to equipment, cleaning and hygiene to
reduce risk.
Working materials, such as tools or domestic appliances, should be assigned to
an individual and not shared if possible. If they need to be shared, they
should be shared by the smallest possible number of people.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Discussing with households ahead of a visit to ask that a 2m distance is kept from those working, if possible.


Asking that households leave all internal doors open to minimise contact with door handles.


Identifying busy areas across the household where people travel to, from or through, for example, stairs and corridors, and minimising movement within these areas.


Bringing your own food and drink to households and having breaks outside where possible.


Limiting the number of workers within a confined space to maintain social distancing.


Using a fixed pairing system if people have to work in close proximity. For example, during two-person assembly or maintenance.


Allocating the same workers to a household where jobs are repetitive. Employers and agencies should introduce fixed pairing to have the same individuals allocated to a household where jobs are repetitive in nature.



Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer relates to the customer and client relationship and entering one's home in a safe and sanitary way.
This is a generic but detailed response to the question involving home visit working.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Acceptable

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Guidance Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
section_headers: What care should staff visiting families in their own homes take?
section_content: Social workers, other children’s social care staff and anyone else considering
the need for a home visit should follow the children’s social care services
guidance and make a judgement
about visiting which balances considerations of the:

risks to children and young people
risks to families
risks to the workforce
national guidance on social distancing and hygiene
statutory responsibilities, including safeguarding

Staff and their managers are best placed to make professional judgements of
risk in each case and decide what form of contact they need.
There are many ways to keep in touch with a child, young person or family
without physical face-to-face contact. It is expected that these will be
utilised appropriately and proportionately, including in response to any risk
assessment undertaken for the child on a case by case basis.
Prior to undertaking a visit, an attempt should be made to ascertain whether
any member of the household is suffering from symptoms of coronavirus. An
initial risk assessment, where possible, should take place by
telephone.
Where households report no coronavirus symptoms, no PPE is required, but a
distance of 2 metres should be maintained where possible. Where this is not
possible, you should undertake a risk
assessment. Good basic hygiene should be followed, such as
handwashing or use of sanitiser before and after the visit, and not touching
your face during the visit.
Where households are reporting coronavirus symptoms, PPE should be worn if a
distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained.
Where it is not possible to ascertain whether any member of the household is
suffering from symptoms of coronavirus prior to face to face contact, steps
should be taken where practical, to mitigate risk. These steps include but are
not restricted to:

knocking on the front door or ringing the doorbell and then stepping back to a distance of 2 metres in adherence to social distancing guidelines
taking PPE as a precautionary measure

*[PPE]: personal protective equipment

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer relates to what should be taken into account when visiting a customer's home, although it relates to social work rather than a customer, the information still applies.
This is a very detailed response to the question.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Excellent