⚠ For information
✉️ Message sent to all staff at BESIX Group, BESIX NV/SA & BESIX RED in Belgium
🌍 Version française en annexe | Nederlandse versie in bijlage
Dear colleagues,
Following the federal announcement on Wednesday 24 March 2021, we would like to reiterate our internal policies that remain unchanged. What follows is a reminder of what has been communicated before. In a nutshell: we continue to work as we have been doing since 2 November 2020.
Your safety and health is our greatest concern. Please take care of yourself and follow the rules when you are in the workplace in order to protect others! These rules apply to all of us.
We would like to thank you all once again for your resilience and commitment to continue our efforts on a daily basis, from your home, office or on site, in Belgium and abroad.
Together, we can beat the virus and put our company on track to achieve our goals for 2021.
1. Be vigilant and stay safe
- If you have any symptoms of illness, stay home and seek medical attention.
- If you or someone in your household has tested positive, stay home and follow the quarantine rules.
- All sanitary measures must be applied and respected at all times, whether in your personal life, on construction sites or in the office: maintain a distance of 1.5 m, wear a mask, wash your hands regularly, ventilate, clean door handles frequently, etc.
- On construction sites and in the office, wearing a mask is mandatory at all times and sufficient ventilation must be provided. This is already the case for the head office. When you are sitting at your desk, you can remove your mask.
- The office restaurant in Brussels is open for take-away meals. You can also have lunch there, but you should keep a social distance at all times – if it is too crowded, please take your meal elsewhere.
- Rigorous and frequent cleaning of offices, door handles and common areas will continue in our office buildings.
- The government has announced the voluntary use of rapid tests to manage cases of Covid-19 in the workplace. It is not yet clear how this is to be implemented. Our QHSE team, together with Mensura, our external health service, is looking into this. If the situation changes, we will inform you immediately.
2. Business continues
- All sites and offices are open and business continues.
- If project managers encounter problems with the supply of materials or manpower, we encourage them to pass this information on to their department head as soon as possible so that we can quickly consider how to provide adequate support.
- Tasks requiring face-to-face coordination and physical meetings can be carried out in the office or on site, provided that the strictest measures are applied: masks must be worn at all times, as well as the social distance of 1.5 metres, adequate ventilation and a limited number of participants. In general, all meetings are preferably conducted via Teams whenever possible.
- As supervision on our sites may be reduced due to illness or quarantine, we insist that normal safety is guaranteed at all times. Contact your QHSE teams if you have any questions.
- The government has announced additional checks on Covid-19 compliance. Please ensure that the necessary signage, the presence of sufficient alcohol gel/soap, the use of masks and compliance with quarantine measures are checked at all times.
3. Telework is compulsory
- As already communicated, the government has decided to make telework mandatory.
- Our BESIX rules have remained stable over time and comply with these requirements. You must telework if you can, but you can come to the office when necessary to carry out your tasks. Each department head remains responsible for checking the department's objectives and the means to achieve them, taking into account the continuity of activities and the health of the employees concerned.
- We remind you that each day of telework must be declared in the Employee Self Service. If you do not declare telework, as well as other absences such as holidays and sickness, you run the risk of insurance coverage in case of accidents.
- A certificate for employees and workers who need to report to work and justify their presence in the office has been published on the intranet and is available for download. Check this page regularly to ensure that you have the latest information. Heads of department are reminded that it is their responsibility to keep it up to date for their department.
4. Non-essential travel abroad remains prohibited
- Non-essential travel abroad remains prohibited. You will find the rules on the dedicated government page, and our own rules on intranet.
- For essential business travel, please contact our travel coordinator to find out what you need to do to travel.
- Business travel to Belgium
> For foreign business travellers, the rules have been stricter for some weeks now. You can also find these rules on this page.
> Make sure that all travellers have filled a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) and bring a proof with them, as well as the result of their negative test. On the PLF they have to mention a contact address in Belgium in case they are not Belgian residents.
> Regarding subcontractor management, you will find the necessary information here.