Lee Waters AM/AC

From Tuesday all businesses in Wales will have to follow the rules that we’ve already imposed on supermarkets to take measures to make sure people stay 2m apart.

Here’s a Q&A on how it will work in practice.

Q1 Does the 2m rule apply to all workplaces?

A: The 2m rule applies to all workplaces, which remain open.

Wherever possible people should work from home.

Workplaces includes public services, health and social care premises, childcare settings, call centres, hospitality centres, commercial and industrial premises, construction sites and other open sites such as roadworks and outdoor places including livestock markets.

The aim is to take all reasonable measures to ensure 2m is kept between anyone on the premises – except two members of the same household or a carer and the person being helped by the carer – to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

What do you mean by “all reasonable measures”?
All reasonable measures means taking proportionate action where it is possible to do so.

The aim of the 2m rule is to help protect people’s health while they are at work by preventing the spread of coronavirus. If physical distancing can be achieved between people at work, this – together with other infection control actions, such as regular handwashing – will help to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

There is no hard and fast rule about what a reasonable measure is. This will depend on the workplace and the nature of the work being undertaken. It may also vary within the workplace.

It will be for a business to justify the reasonable measures they put in place and to demonstrate how they have considered these are proportionate and how they reduce the risk faced by workers who have to continue coming to work.

Is there an exemption for those workplaces/businesses, which are critical to the response to the coronavirus outbreak?

The 2m rule applies to all workplaces, which remain open. Many of these workplaces are vital and must continue to operate.

This is not about stopping work but is about doing what all businesses can within each work setting and each workplace to change the way we work to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Where people are still coming into a workplace to work, the 2m rule is not about stopping people working but about changing the way people work.

Q2: Are healthcare facilities exempt from the 2m rule?

A: The 2m rule applies to all workplaces, which remain open. Many of these workplaces are vital and must continue to operate.

In a healthcare setting – for example, a dentist will not be able to stay 2m away from a patient when giving treatment. But a dentist can stay 2m away from a patient when they are not giving treatment and they can stay 2m from the dental nurse most of the time. These are reasonable measures.

Stopping providing treatment would not be classed as “reasonable measures”.

If the 2m rule is not possible could alternative measures be take – for example such as installing plastic barriers between members of staff or between staff and customers?
The nature of measures, which are reasonable will be specific to an individual workplace. They will reflect the physical environment and the nature of the business being conducted.

The following are examples of reasonable measures:

• Reducing the number of people working to a skeleton staff – increasing the space between people by reducing the total number of people in attendance.

• Increasing space between staff – for example on a production line leaving 2m gaps between people and indicating spacing with markings.

• Consider appropriate provision of rest space – is there a congregation of workers at a certain time? Could additional space be provided or could break times be staggered?

• Making adjustments to the way work is done to reduce contact.

• Staggering shifts to minimise people on site and to reduce congestion during shift changes.

• Carrying a passenger in the back seat rather than the front seat of a taxi would be a reasonable measure

Q.3: Are there situations when it will not be possible for people to stay 2m apart?

There will be circumstances when it is not possible to take reasonable measures.

Employers will be expected to undertake an assessment before concluding there are no reasonable measures that they can take.

Examples of the types of situation include:

• Providing personal services, including in the home
• Tasks that require two or more people to undertake them safely, including heavy lifting or carrying dangerous chemicals, although there may be measures that can be adopted elsewhere in the workplace
• Education and childcare settings – especially where young children cannot understand the concept of social distancing and where the appropriate support from adult workers may require closer contact
• Exceptions where close contact is required between workers and the users of services, although again there can be measures in the wider workplace which would minimise the risk of transmission
• Where workers are required to travel together
• Where dual working is to ensure safety
• Working in confined spaces, for example repairing infrastructure for utilities

It is unlikely these circumstances would mean that no reasonable measures could be adopted at all. Employers and staff will be best placed to know what can be done

The key purpose of the regulations is to minimise the risk of transmission of coronavirus. Where contact or closer working is required, it is important other measures are considered, for example:

• Minimising the level of interaction
• Physical barriers
• Improved hygiene and reminders about the importance of hygiene
• Washing hands well for 20 seconds with soap after close contact
• Ensuring people with symptoms are not present on the premises.

Q4: Who is responsible for enforcing the 2m rule?
A: The police and local authorities have powers to enforce the regulations.

A fixed penalty of £60 is payable for a first offence (this reduces to £30 if paid within 14 days but is doubled to £120 for a second a subsequent breach) but a person could be charged with a criminal offence and ultimately convicted and be required to pay a fine.