Coronavirus (Covid-19) and working with suppliers

The UK Government and devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have continued to review the guidance and restrictions in place across each nation.

The latest updates, particularly those announced for England, have started to remove many of the restrictions we’ve seen in place since the start of the pandemic. At Lloyds Banking Group we have determined that we won’t make any changes to how our sites operate before September 2021. As such we wish to remind all of our suppliers of the Group’s approach and operational procedures.

Suppliers that are approved for home working should continue to work from home wherever possible. Any supplier that feels they need to be on-site at a Lloyds Banking Group office or branch should agree and coordinate this in advance with your Supplier Manager or local Lloyds Banking Group contact – and should always follow the guidance in place at the time of being on site.

Lloyds Banking Group has documented an approach for COVID-19 risk assessments, setting out how we are managing health and safety risks and keeping our workplaces safe. The document is available on request from your Supplier Manager. We have completed risk assessments for each of our buildings (also available on request), and have implemented steps to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level so that everybody's health and safety is protected. 

Throughout our locations we are providing clear guidance and signage on social distancing and hygiene. Any person entering our buildings must make every effort to follow the guidance in place, including while arriving at and departing from our locations. 

Where the activity being carried out means that social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, suppliers should, as a minimum, follow the mitigating actions outlined in the Government guidance including:

• Further increasing the frequency of hand washing.
• Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible.
• Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible.
• Reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Where you are already using PPE in your work activity to protect against non-COVID-19 risks, you should continue to do so. Where suppliers usually provide activity aligned PPE to support delivery of the goods or services they provide, we expect this to continue. 

Use of face coverings in our properties

We ask that everyone in our buildings wears a face covering except when at a socially distanced desk or when eating or drinking.

Our security staff may need you to remove your face covering for ID checking as you enter the building. Please put your face covering back on as soon as this has been completed.

Some of you may also be exempt in line with the face covering guidance from the UK Government and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We should all be mindful and respectful of such circumstances and remember that the reasons for this may not be visible to others.

Lloyds Banking Group expects that our suppliers will follow the advice and guidance applicable in the jurisdictions from which they provide and / or deliver goods and services. This includes any regional restrictions as a result of localised lockdown measures. Should you have any questions or concerns relating to our or your responsibility then please pick these up in the first instance with your Supplier Manager or local contact within Lloyds Banking Group.