Confused on When to Wear Face Coverings?

Did you know you have a legal requirement to wear a Face Covering in many different places and more places are being included 8th August 2020?

You will more than likely know what a Face Covering is, but do you know the Legislation which exists for The Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place?

What is the Legislation around Face Coverings?

We need to start at the beginning…

To clarify, a Face Covering is something which safely covers the nose and mouth.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 were laid before parliament 23rd July 2020 and came into force 24th July 2020.

The Statutory Instruments 2020 No.791 states these new Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in England.

The Secretary of State considers that the requirements imposed by these Regulations are proportionate to what they seek to achieve, which is a public health response to the threat.

Do I need to wear a Face Covering?

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 Regulation 3(1) states;

No person may, without reasonable excuse, enter or remain within a relevant place without wearing a face covering.

Exclusions are:

• to a child who is under the age of 11;
• to a person responsible for a relevant place or an employee of that person acting in the course of their employment;
• to any other person providing services in the relevant place under arrangements made with the person responsible for a relevant place;
• to an employee of an operator of a public transport service acting in the course of their employment;
• to a person who enters or is within a transport hub in a vehicle (other than a vehicle being used for the provision of a public transport service);
• to a constable or police community support officer acting in the course of their duty;
• to an emergency responder (other than a constable) acting in their capacity as an emergency responder;
• to a relevant official acting in the course of their employment or their duties.

Please refer to The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 Regulation 3(1) for the specifics of an ’emergency responder’ or relevant official’

Please refer to The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 Regulation 4(1) for the specifics of a person who ‘has a reasonable excuse ‘

Can I get fined for not wearing a face covering?

A person who contravenes the requirement of regulation 3 is committing an offence.

A person who obstructs, without reasonable cause or reasonable excuse as directed under regulation 5(2) or regulation 5(5) commits an offence.

If it is proven an offence was committed under this piece of legislation, the authorised person may issue a fixed penalty notice of £100.

The fixed penalty notice is reduced to £50 if paid before the end of the fixed 14 day period.

Where do I need to wear a Face Covering before August 8 2020?

In England, everyone must (taking into account the above references and exclusions) wear face coverings in the following settings:

• public transport;
• indoor transport hubs (airports, rail and tram stations and terminals, maritime ports and terminals, bus and coach stations and terminals);
• shops and supermarkets (places which are open to the public and that wholly or mainly offer goods or services for retail sale or hire);
• indoor shopping centres;
• banks, building societies, and post offices (including credit unions, short-term loan providers, savings clubs and money service businesses)

You are expected to put on (wear) a Face Covering before entering any of the above settings and keep it on until you leave.

Face Coverings are not required in a restaurant with table service, bars and pubs.

What happens on August 8th 2020?

For members of the public, from the 8th August 2o20, the places where you will have to wear a Face Coverings will be expanded to include:

• funeral directors
• premises providing professional, legal or financial services
• cinemas
• theatres
• bingo halls
• concert halls
• museums, galleries, aquariums, indoor zoos or visitor farms, or other indoor tourist, heritage or cultural sites.
• nail, beauty, hair salons and barbers – other than where necessary to remove for treatments
• massage parlours
• public areas in hotels and hostels
• place of worship
• libraries and public reading rooms
• community centres
• social clubs
• tattoo and piercing parlours
• indoor entertainment venues (amusement arcades, funfairs, adventure activities e.g. laser quest, go-karting, escape rooms, heritage sites etc)\
• storage and distribution facilities
• veterinary services.
• auction houses

Please note the government strongly encourage you to wear a Face Covering in other enclosed public spaces where social distancing may be difficult.

Do the regulations expire?

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 expire 24th July 2021 – 12 months with the day on which they came into force.

Do you need any COVID-19 support – as per the latest Legislation?

Safety PAL has helped many companies achieve COVID-Secure, and will continue to support any company needing to increase prevention and protection in such ways as:

• record hazard, the risk and suitable control measures;
• employees health surveillance;
• daily spot checks recording sanitizer stations and segregation processes;
• employee wellbeing “How are you feeling today’;
• updating workers regularly on changes and updates.

We have created two posters for you to use in your business today:

• Download ‘Face Coverings Poster 1’ Face Coverings Are mandatory
• Download ‘Face Coverings Poster 2’ Face Coverings are not mandatory here, but…’

Further extending our support to each and every worker who uses Safety PAL, this essential protective equipment advice poster was disseminated on Safety PAL immediately after the government departments released it.
All subscribers received this poster and their management will have a record of who has read it.

If you are not yet a subscriber to Safety PAL (PLAN ACT LEARN) you can download the PDF poster by clicking on the above poster link.

To ensure all clients using Safety PAL are educating their workers on Respiratory Protection Equipment (RPE), we include the HSE Face Fit Testing video as part of their implementation package.

These are just a few things on how Safety PAL prevents and protects. If you require specific information, advice or support, please get in touch using any of our contact us forms – We will get back to you promptly.

Closing; The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also provides all the latest information and advice relating to the coronavirus outbreak