Other groups of workers at particular risk

PHE’s August 2020 report, Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19, found that among people already diagnosed with COVID-19, people who were 80 or older were 70 times more likely to die than those under 40. The risk of dying among those diagnosed with COVID-19 was also higher: in males than females; in those living in the more deprived areas than those living in the least deprived; and in those in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups than in White ethnic groups.

It found the risk was also higher for people working in a range of caring occupations including social care and nursing auxiliaries and assistants; taxi and minicab drivers and chauffeurs; security guards; and those working in care homes.

As a result, unions have called on employers to carry out equality risk assessments and equality impact assessments as well as risk assessments (see Chapter 2).