Restaurants: Social Distancing

(asked on 4th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the level of adherence to social distancing guidance in takeaway restaurant kitchens.


Answered by
Paul Scully Portrait
Paul Scully
This question was answered on 13th May 2020

The Government has introduced important social distancing measures for all types of businesses to consider in order to minimise the risk of transmission in the workplace. The Government has been clear that it is vital that all employers follow this guidance, which is clinically led and based on expert advice.

The advice on social distancing measures applies to everyone. This includes all staff in a takeaway business, including those working in the kitchen, and in any external public areas where customers may need to queue to collect orders. In order to support?employers, we have provided additional guidance about how these measures might be implemented in different sectors:?https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance?

We have produced specific guidance, which applies to any food preparation or food service setting where food is sold directly to the consumer. For example, bars, pubs and restaurants operating as takeaways, cafes, food to go, food delivery and traditional takeaway (fixed and mobile); and contract catering at the point of service to the consumer such as in office or similar environments. It specifically refers to the requirement of businesses in the food industry to maintain social distancing in kitchens and other food preparation areas.

We have outlined a number of measures, which we expect employers to consider in order to reduce contact in kitchens. These include:

  • Following government guidance on managing food preparation and food service areas (gov.uk/workingsafely).
  • Allowing kitchen access to as few people as possible.
  • Minimising interaction between kitchen workers and other workers, including when on breaks.
  • Putting teams into shifts to restrict the number of employees interacting with each other.
  • Spacing workstations 2 metres apart as much as possible, recognising the difficulty of moving equipment such as sinks, hobs and ovens. Consider cleanable panels to separate workstations in larger kitchens.
  • Providing floor marking to signal distances of 2 metres apart.
  • Using ‘one way’ traffic flows to minimise contact.
  • Minimising access to walk-in pantries, fridges and freezers, for example with only one person being able to access these areas at one point in time.
  • Minimising contact at ‘handover’ points with other staff, such as when presenting food to serving staff and delivery drivers.

If a business is not operating in line with the Government guidance, there is a role for the relevant health and safety enforcing authority - the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Local Authority. Where the enforcing authority identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, for example, employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance, the enforcing authority will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. These actions include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements with the guidance.

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