Protecting staff and customers during the coronavirus crisis

Since the first reported case on 1 December 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak has spread worldwide and 210 countries and territories have recorded cases of the disease. Currently, over a third of the world’s population is under some form of lockdown in which movement of people is severely restricted and only essential businesses are allowed to operate.

A few countries have recently announced some easing of restrictions, but it’s still not possible to predict with certainty how the disease will progress and WHO’s global risk assessment is still classified as very high. In many countries, Rentokil Initial is classed as an essential business and we continue to provide services to our customers, where possible.

Supporting your business during the coronavirus crisis

As the world’s leading pest control company, we are committed to supporting businesses worldwide during the coronavirus.

We offer the broadest, most advanced range of industry-leading pest control services and solutions in the industry, to support your business comply with various regulatory, legislative and auditing requirements and to protect your people and premises.

We also provide a range of legally compliant specialist disinfection services across 60 different countries to help you deal with the effects of the coronavirus by ensuring high standards of hygiene.

Our sister company, Initial, can provide your business with a range of surface, hand and air hygiene solutions to enhance the experience of staff and customers and minimise the risk of cross-contamination.

What are we doing for our customers during the coronavirus pandemic?

As a responsible organisation that’s committed to protecting people, we’ll be closely monitoring the situation and providing informative updates to our customers via our websites and direct communications.

We want you to be reassured that our colleagues will not pose added risk to our customers and their employees. We’ve been implementing actions and training to ensure our continued delivery of a safe and high level of service while adhering to regional Governmental instructions and being sensitive to customer health and safety requirements.

Will there be any changes to my service levels?

The health and safety of our colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to us, and we will not offer our services unless we can be sure it is safe to do so. We are aiming to keep disruption to a minimum; however the following restrictions have been put in place for safety purposes.

1. Rentokil Initial businesses will not conduct any type of service in medical treatment rooms or quarantine areas which are used for the care of patients who have experienced COVID-19 unless they are specifically trained to do so.
2. Our businesses which provide specialist disinfection services by colleagues trained in biohazards and infection control will be permitted to conduct services in the following areas, provided there are no potentially affected people in the area and all other risks have been robustly assessed:
   • Medical treatment rooms or quarantine areas which are used for the care of patients who have experienced COVID-19 infections.
   • Any premises or vehicle which has been quarantined due to the presence of a suspected COVID-19 patient(s).

What are we doing for our employees?

To ensure we provide a sensible and proportionate response, we’ve established a dedicated central team to monitor the global situation and maintain a global response plan. The initial phase of this plan consists of providing instructions and guidelines for country leadership teams and ensuring all colleagues around the world receive thorough awareness briefings. All information is being assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure that our people are always protected and are also able to inform our customers on new developments as they happen.

In every country, our management teams, health and safety, and HR managers are continuously monitoring local government guidance and recommendations from WHO and CDC.

In a country with active outbreaks, we’re carrying out risk assessments and implementing risk control measures to ensure colleague exposure to infection risks is reduced, helping to protect them and also customers with whom they come into contact. These controls may include the following.

• Increased supply and use of PPE, particularly N95 and FFP3 face masks
• The potential introduction of travel bans
• Possible restrictions or postponement of visitors from affected areas
• Quarantining colleagues who present symptoms after travel into infected areas or exposure to infected persons

In countries with zero or a small number of isolated cases, we’ll continue to carry out routine work activities, following standard safe working practices, to include the following.

• Practising regular, good hand hygiene using soap and water, ensuring hands are thoroughly dried and applying an alcohol-based hand sanitiser solution - particular important when travelling or working in heavily populated areas.
• Use of all forms of fit-for-purpose, undamaged PPE, specified and provided for the work they are required to perform.
• Ensuring cuts and abrasions are kept clean, treated and covered with waterproof dressings.