When does 2m = 1m +

Be clear with employees, customers and visitors that 1 metre is not the new normal. It is the third best way to ensure you have taken steps to reduce the risks to the lowest level reasonably practicable in line with your obligations under health and safety legislation. Those who can still effectively work at home should continue to do so. And where 2m social distancing can be maintained, that is the better option. (See here for a more in depth look at your H&S obligations)

If for practical or commercial reasons you opt for “1m plus” additional protective measures, bear in mind the Test and Trace parameters. Contact tracers are particularly interested to know if people with symptoms have had face to face contact with someone (less than 1 meter away) or spent more than 15 minutes within 2m metres of someone). There are clear advantages of maintaining 2 meter distancing where possible as this reduces the likelihood of the need to self-isolate – likely to be important for your employees and you if you are self-employed..

To support Track and Trace businesses that are now allowed to reopen will need to operate booking systems and keeping a temporary record of your customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for your business, and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. Further guidance on how to do this in certain industries and in line with GDPR will follow – in the meantime see my colleague Alex Leonidou’s note here.