WAITROSE STAFF UNMASKED

 

That's an 'A' board you see. It is outside the Havant, Hants branch of Waitrose at which a relatively large proportion of staff will not wear face coverings while on the shop floor. Management say they encourage them to do so. Indeed, they give the same encouragement to shoppers and, from my experience, most shoppers positively respond. There is not unanimous agreement on the effectiveness of face coverings in enclosed spaces. But I suggest that in shops, at least, there should be respect for the wishes of the owners and face covered shoppers who believe that protection is afforded by the wearing of coverings by all customers and staff for whom wearing a covering does not raise any health issue.  Here's a summary of my recent email exchange on the subject with the Waitrose executive office. If you bear with me, you will find out more about the 'A' board.

Me to Waitrose

13/08/2021

Good Afternoon

I have shopped in your Havant, Hants store every day this week. I am appalled to see a material number of staff - three of them today were supervisory - without face coverings and without any displayed indication that they were exempt from wearing such a covering. What sort of message does this convey to shoppers who are civilly asked to take various health precautions and, from what I have observed, are in the vast majority of cases doing so? In short, your shoppers are behaving more responsibly than your staff. Why do you not prevail on staff at the store to be masked or, at the very least, withdraw from client contact if they refuse? By virtue of the large proportion of unmasked staff, it is highly unlikely they were all exempt in any event.

Waitrose to Me

13/08/2021

Dear Stephen

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

....In line with government guidance, we will recommend that our customers and Partners in England continue to wear a face covering unless exempt, from 19 July. The decision over whether to do so or not, when in our shops, will be for each individual to take, based on their own judgment.

I do appreciate your concern, despite the relaxation of Government restrictions. Across all our stores we will be retaining perspex screens and hand sanitising stations, We will also maintain all of the hand hygiene and store cleaning disciplines which have served us well since the start of the pandemic.

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and I will ensure your comments are fed back to the branch manager at Havant.

....

Me to Waitrose

14/08/2021

Dear Josh

Thank you and noted. But that is a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs, is it not? What is the legal impediment to you taking a Partner who refuses to wear a mask off the shop floor to discharge other duties so that customers are not exposed to them and the danger they present? There is none of which I am aware.

Me to Waitrose

14/08/2021

Dear Josh

An update, Just back from waitrose, Havant. The lady on 'customer services' is unmasked. Customer disservices?

Waitrose to me

16/08/2021

Dear Stephen

Thank you for getting back in touch and for your suggestion.

I'm very sorry that you're unhappy with our response and I do understand how you are feeling.

Unfortunately this isn't something we would be able to do with our Partners due to operation of our shops - the majority of the tasks take place on the shop-floor and there aren't dedicated 'back of house' teams.

I will continue to pass on your feedback to the branch manager as well as to our leadership teams to review.

Me to Waitrose

17/08/2021

Josh

...

I observe today that the safety guidance to customers is displayed close to the store entrance but inside so you have to be inside to read it whereas my recollection is that it was formerly displayed in the front window (possibly, as well as inside). For the obvious reason, exclusive display inside is not sufficient, is it?

Waitrose to me

17/08/2021

Dear Stephen

Thanks for your response.

...

I'm sorry to hear that some of our safety guidance is positioned inside the branch. I will speak to branch management about this to make the signage visible to customers outside of the branch. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.  

Me to Waitrose

21/08/2021

Josh

...I would have hoped - as I am sure would you - that this particular complaint could have been put to bed but, alas, I have more depressing news. The signage and the positioning have not changed and so it would seem that your direction or advice (as the case may be) has not been heeded. I have started on the task of producing a notice that can be prominently displayed in a front window and which follows the wording of the covid notice to be found within the store. If the branch management team can take  a few minutes off from encouraging staff to wear face coverings and contact me, arrangements can be made for me to affix the notice to a suitable position. I would not make any charge for my services.

On my visit to the store this afternoon, only two cashiers were face covered which then increased to three. One of the uncovered was the young lady on the fast 'baskets only' till. I would have thought that this was unsatisfactory as this till surely needs to be well patronised to take the pressure off the other tills but I did observe that customers, as did I, were unsurprisingly keeping their distance from her. Perhaps those members of management who are singing the praises of mask coverings need to raise the volume of their voices or take a course in the powers of persuasion.

Waitrose to me

24/08/2021

Dear Stephen

I'm very sorry to hear that the signage has not been moved to a clearer position outside. 

I have spoke with...the branch manager who has arranged for a sign to be placed outside. They have also ordered a new signage display which will sit outside to display the safety message to customers. I apologise that this wasn't in place previously.

Me To Waitrose

04/09/2021

Dear Josh

Yes, it is me again. The signage outside is an 'A' board: one side has advertising material and the other side is devoted to covid health precautions. During the week commencing 23 August 2021, the board on successive days was situated so that the health precautions side could only be read by customers approaching the store along the pavement outside in one direction or so that the health precautions side was only visible from inside the store and facing out (see photograph above which was sent) and on one day it was absent.

I think that Waitrose, Havant is having a laugh. Don't you?

Waitrose to me

06/09/2021

Thanks for getting back and I hope you are keeping well.

.... I will raise this with.. the branch manager so he can address this with the team and look to resolve this.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I hope you have a lovely rest of the day and rest of the week.

Safe shopping.

COVID-19: FACE COVERING CHANGES: ENGLAND

I know you love 'em so let me present (cue drum roll) SI 2020/1026 - The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place and on Public Transport) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 which were made this morning and come into force in England tomorrow Thursday 24 September 202o. Here is an authoratative extracted summary of what they do from the government. "In order to increase the protection offered to members of the public and workers in hospitality settings, these Amending Regulations amend Schedule 1 of the Face Covering Regulations to require individuals to wear a face covering when in a restaurant, including restaurants and dining rooms in hotels or members' clubs, bars, including bars in hotels or members' clubs, public houses and theatres. Regulation 2(8) of the Amending Regulations amends Schedule 1 of the Face Covering Regulations by removing the exclusion for areas with seating or tables provided for the consumption of food and drink. Members of the public are therefore required to wear a face covering when entering, leaving and moving around in these hospitality settings. The reasonable excuses in Regulation 4 of the Face Covering Regulations are unchanged. As such face coverings can be removed within these settings for the purposes of eating and drinking or taking medication. This amendment will reduce the risk of passing on the infection when moving through a restaurant, bar or other hospitality setting, hence offering greater protections to those visiting these indoor spaces as well as those working within them. While face coverings are not a substitute for distancing and hand hygiene, there is some evidence to suggest that when used correctly, face coverings may have some benefit in reducing the likelihood of those with the infection passing it on to others, particularly if they are asymptomatic. Regulation 2(4) of these Amending Regulations inserts a new Regulation 2A into the Face Covering Regulations. The effect of Regulation 2A is that it now requires staff and other workers to wear face coverings in the settings listed in Schedule 3, where these are open to the public, and the staff member may or is likely to come into contact with members of the public. This includes staff working in public facing areas in shops, supermarkets, museums, galleries, cinemas and other indoor settings as outlined in the new Schedule 3 to the Face Covering Regulations. Regulation 2(4) of the Amending Regulations also inserts a new Regulation 2B into the Face Covering Regulations. Regulation 2B states that the requirement to wear a face covering does not supersede any obligations placed on employees by their employers to wear Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). In such case, employees would be expected to comply with the provisions outlined by their employer, in conjunction with any obligations under the Health and Safety at Work act 1974, and wear RPE. Including staff within the scope of the Face Covering Regulations will enhance the protections offered to both workers and customers in these settings, where people are more likely to come into close contact with others they do not regularly meet. This will help minimise the spread of the virus particularly when moving around these settings. Regulation 2(5) of these Amending Regulations inserts a new exemption in Regulation 3(2)(o) the Face Covering Regulations. A staff member or other worker in a setting listed in Schedule 3 which is open to the public will not be required to wear a face covering if they are a performer performing in the course of their employment or in the course of providing their services. SAGE has previously advised that there is evidence to recommend the use of cloth masks in certain higher-risk settings as a precautionary measure where masks could be at least partially effective. These settings would be enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible to maintain consistently, creating a risk of close social contact with multiple parties the person does not usually meet. Distancing (>2 metres) remains the preferred option where possible. In such settings, evidence would support a policy where cloth masks could be used for short durations where unavoidable closer interactions with others are occurring or likely. This advice does not replace or change existing advice on other measures – such as hand washing, social distancing and self-isolation. Mandating the use of face coverings in additional hospitality settings and extending the requirement to staff and other workers working in customer facing roles, when used alongside other measures, therefore offers a reasonable protective measure to reduce the risk of infection on contamination by a virus that presents a significant harm to public health. The Amending Regulations also make changes to the Fixed Penalty Amounts for offences in relevant places and on public transport. Regulation 2(6) of this instruments amends Regulation 7 of the Face Covering Regulations and the Public Transport Regulations so that the amount of a FPN imposed for the first offence under the Face Covering Regulations is now set at £200 (previously £100), and continue to double at each subsequent offence up to a maximum amount of £6400. The amount of a FPN for the first offence will now reduce to an increased amount of £100 (previously £50) if paid within 14 days. There are no reductions from the second or subsequent fines. This is in line with penalties for other national coronavirus regulations. Whilst the vast majority of people have complied with rules throughout the pandemic, and enforcement measures remain a last resort, these amendments will further deter noncompliance and tackle those who repeatedly breach the requirement to wear a face covering.'

COVID-19: FACE COVERING CHANGES: ENGLAND

Changes to face covering legal requirements in England come into force tomorrow Saturday 22 August 2020. Feast of the details at -https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/882/pdfs/uksiem_20200882_en.pdf