Covid 19 Compliance Officer

Under the new Covid regulations, every company is required to appoint a compliance officer and to have a compliance plan. Before we talk about the details of the plan, what about risk?

If a company has failed to adhere to the regulations and an employee contracts Covid-19 in the workplace, when it could have been avoided, the company faces serious risks in terms of civil liability.

Every company must appoint a compliance officer. The appointment is however not as simple as it seems at first glance. How does a compliance officer implement a plan without stepping on the toes of HR?

What level of authority does the compliance officer have and what kind of risk does this person take on. We recommend that these issues are carefully considered by companies so as to ensure that the compliance plan is functionally implemented and also, that your compliance officer is not hamstrung in complying with his/her obligations.

The compliance officer is obliged to develop and implement a compliance plan. This plan must address all of the requirements of the Regulations. Some examples include: work from home policies, social distancing, mandatory wearing of masks & sanitising.

Developing a plan is not enough, the compliance officer is responsible for implementing the plan.