Offices will need a clean bill of health

UK PLC would have to spend approximately £3.7billion to get offices fit for staff to return, according to estimates from printing group Where The Trade Buys (WTTB).

Offices across the country have been empty since March due to coronavirus. WTTB, which is producing PPE for the NHS, said that workplaces will have to be transformed in order to make employees feel safe and ensure companies comply with social distancing and other rules.

It calculates a thorough deep clean of all commercial office space alone would cost £2.4billion. Equipping workers with two face masks would cost £72million, while providing enough hand sanitiser for day one would cost £3.1million.

WTTB chief executive Gary Peeling said: “With shared office spaces reopening, businesses require health and safety products to ensure the safeguarding of their staff. Careful planning will be needed in order to put the necessary protective equipment in place, and enhance health and safety measures before employees return to the workplace.”

According to Richard Kauntze, chief executive of the British Council for Offices, working environments will have to be redesigned and ventilation systems upgraded so that they provide fresh air to people inside.

“At the moment, a lot of offices recirculate air. Understandably, there’ll be a lot of pressure to change that,” he said. He added the outbreak will lead to offices being cleaned more regularly in the future: “I can see thorough cleanings during the week and deep cleaning at weekends.”