Good afternoon all,

I manage H&S in a pharmaceutical warehousing and storage company over 8 sites. During the Covid outbreak we have managed to stay open and successfully manage all areas with no confirmed cases to date despite having 1500 employees. 

Our protocols and restrictions are meticulous and so far all employees work well keeping to our requirements. However, we have identified some pinch points such as locker rooms and toilet areas where at shift change over time, despite we have a 10 minute gap from employees leaving and employees coming in.

So my question I have been asked by senior management is:

If we were to request for it to be mandatory for employees to wear face coverings (not masks) in locker rooms and at shift change over time only (there is around 60 people leaving at this time) is it my company's responsibility to supply masks such as the surgical type, or can we expect persons to bring their own like you would for the supermarket. I am looking at this from a legal perspective more than anything.

Your help in any information from other professionals is much appreciated 

If you supply them then you get to control the "standard".

It is only PPE/RPE where regulation specifically states supply Free of Charge but then the debacle of face coevrings is an emerging situation.

If you let people choose what a face covering means to them then you will end up with a myriad of potentially unwanted devices (especially in Scotland where a visor does not fit the regulatory definition of a face covering).

Others have noted that choosing the "surgical" style increases plastic pollution.

Do remember to consider what you will do for those who are unable to wear a close fitting mask.

On a purely practical note I would say if you want them to wear it then you should supply it. 

If you're making it mandatory for that setting/scenario i would say the company should be providing them. There is no guidance saying wear surgical style face coverings, in fact i think its discouraged outside of healthcare activities so i would go down the re-usable route.We are a similar company to you, and currently have face coverings mandatory in all communal areas on site in response to a rise in cases in the locality. The coverings are provided by us with the stipulation people can wear their on face coverings if more comfortable. These are washable and reusable. Afterall there are no standards for face coverings anyway.

Not sure on the legal aspect of it, but you're going to create issues with compliance and culture if you dont supply it, and if you do supply it gives the added bonus that it will improve employer - employee relations and paint the employer in a more positive light.

You need to consult your in house legal team or external legal respource for your answewr...however it will likely say that the requirement can be put in place under the 'working safely guidance' applicable to England especially in the close contact situation you describe...but it will be your risk assessment that will be the legal requirement here...so good old consultation and talking to people is the way to go...charge for it? probably not contribution that goes to charity is an option... 

Originally Posted by: The BAT

With the government now making face coverings, compulsory in communal areas in the workplace

Must have missed that update to regulation - anyone know which Satutory Instrument article this falls under?

They do not appear as a "relevant place" Schedule 1 of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020

Nor do they appear on the last update (24th September) of HM Gov guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

I would be wary of charging an employee to come to work - there are only a few limited items which an employer can legally automatically deduct from wages e.g. Tax, Student Loan.. - anything else is always by the employees consent.

The scientists behind this drive to face coverings should start by getting a set standard which provides demonstrable protection to the wearer - then with a standard and a level of protection the use of a face coverings can become a little bit more than a placebo and trigger to the angry mob.

I must confess to beginning to descend in to Mask Rage only not against those not wearing a face covering (I would not presume to question absence) but the morons who seem incapable of grasping the concept that the device without an exhaust valve should be simultaneously covering both the nose and mouth to be of benefit.

Just checking in Scottish guidance  https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-phase-3-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/pages/face-coverings/#mandatory and came across this corker under exemptions:

"you cannot apply a covering and wear it in the proper manner safely and consistently"

That covers about half the people seen in the supermarket over the weekend.

Face coverings have never been the one control measure or promoted as such by any scientist...it can in some cases give a false sense of security to reduce social distancing...which is not ideal...but still the legal position is your risk assessment on what to provide or not in the workplace and compliance with the requirements follows that...

For information this was published back in April this year by EUCDC

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/COVID-19-use-face-masks-community.pdf

The government in Scotland have made it mandatory in Scotland to wear masks in corridors and communal areas in the workplace.

My issue is, they are not PPE, therefore who supplies them?

If it's the company, one size doesn't fit all, but how do you enforce compliance, if it does not come under PPE regs.

I would rather the government didn't make this decision without telling businesses how to cost it and police it, but they have.

I'm inclined to issue one to each employee at our cost, but then isist they buy their own if they don't take care of it or they don't like the style.

2000 employees imagine how many diffent face shapes that is.

Our risk assessment onlt states the use of face masks if employees work in close proximity for more than 15 minutes, not passing in a corridor.

http://forum.iosh.co.uk/posts/m803308-Face-Masks--please-help#post803308

Face masks in Scottish work places is also being discussed in more detail in the post above