East Suffolk Council
Covid-19 food safety guidance for businesses
Tier 2 restrictions in force from 2 December 2020
Restrictions in Tier 2 areas include:
- nightclubs and adult entertainment venues must remain closed
- pubs and bars may not provide alcohol for consumption on the premises, unless with a substantial meal, so they are operating as a restaurant. They may remain open for take-away services
- other hospitality businesses – including cafes, restaurants and social clubs – can only serve alcohol with substantial meals. If they are a business which serves alcohol for consumption on the premises, they must be table service only. In cinemas, theatres, concert halls and sports stadia, alcohol can be ordered at a bar to be consumed when seated in the auditorium or area where the screening/performance is taking place. This should be limited to only those with tickets. When it is to be consumed in the bar area itself, it must be part of a substantial meal and full table service must be provided
- hospitality venues that do not serve alcohol may allow someone to order from the counter, but they must still consume their meal from a seat if eating in
- hospitality venues must stop taking orders after 10pm and must close between 11pm and 5am (with exceptions for airports, ports, the Folkestone international rail terminal, on public transport services and in motorway service areas, although these places cannot sell alcohol after 11pm)
- hospitality businesses and venues selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm, such as by take-away. After 11pm, this must only be through delivery service or click-and-collect or drive-through.
- businesses must not provide shared smoking equipment for use on the premises.
- visitor attractions, entertainment businesses and venues may open but early closure (11pm) applies to the following:
- casinos
- theatres
- museums
- bowling alleys
- adult gaming centres and amusement arcades
- funfairs, theme parks and adventure parks and activities
- bingo halls
- cinemas, theatres, concert halls and sports stadia
- cinemas, theatres, concert halls and sports stadia can stay open beyond 11pm in order to conclude performances and events that start before 10pm
- tour groups must operate in line with social contact rules. This means that larger tours where different households or support bubbles (or groups of more than 6 if outdoors) interact will not be feasible
- accommodation, such as hotels, holiday lets and guesthouses, may open but businesses must take reasonable steps to ensure that social contact rules are followed within their venues
- retail businesses and premises may open but must ensure that they operate in a COVID-19-secure manner
- theatres, concert halls, music venues and sports stadia are open, but capacity will be restricted to whichever is lower: 50% capacity or 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
- conference centres and exhibition halls are open. Business events are permitted, but capacity should be restricted to whichever is lower: 50% capacity of 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
- certain businesses and venues are required to collect customer, visitor and staff data to support NHS Test and Trace
- the wearing of face coverings for customers and staff (other than those with exemptions) is mandatory in certain indoor settings
- businesses must ensure that if their workers are required to self-isolate, they do not work outside their designated place of self-isolation
- businesses and venues that fail to comply with these restrictions may face fines of up to £10,000, prosecution, or in some cases closure
Frequently asked questions
Can my customers eat/drink at my tables?
Customers can consume food and drink at the tables you provide, as long as this is done in accordance with government guidelines. Customers must eat and drink at a table in any premises selling food and drink to consume indoors, on site.
Do I have to provide customer toilets at my business?
The council can require the provision of customer toilets at places where customers are invited to consume the food on the premises. This does not apply to retail or predominantly takeaway businesses. Covid-19 restrictions have not changed this, and it is up to the food business to ensure safe access and use, following government guidelines.
Do takeaway customers have to order by phone/app/internet?
No, but these methods are advised where long queues of customers are likely outside and social distancing is a problem.
Do I have to control the number of customers who enter my business either to pick up a takeaway or who are waiting to be seated?
Yes. You must ensure 2 metre distancing between people from different households who are queuing and when seating groups at a table where members of the group are not from the same household.
Do I have to control the number of customers who enter my café, pub or restaurant?
Yes. You must ensure 2 metre distancing between people from different households who are queuing.
Do food handlers have to wear face coverings?
If the food handlers can work so that they are always 2 metres apart from colleagues and customers they do not have to wear face coverings (other than in the NHS). If this cannot be achieved and food handlers are working at 1 metre+ apart they should wear a face covering or visor. This is to protect others in case they have Covid-19. It does not protect the wearer. Businesses must remind people to wear face coverings where mandated.
If your business has taken steps in line with the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance for Covid-19 secure workplaces, to create a physical barrier between workers and members of the public, then staff behind the barrier will not be required to wear a face covering. For other indoor settings, employers should assess the use of face coverings on a case by case basis, depending on the workplace environment, other appropriate mitigations they have put in place, and whether reasonable exemptions apply. Visors may not be used in place of an appropriate face covering. The government guidance on face coverings does not allow the option of wearing a visor or face shield instead.
Do customers have to provide contact details?
It is mandatory for certain businesses to have a system to collect NHS Test and Trace data and keep this for 21 days (full details here). Core COVID-19 Secure requirements are mandated for hospitality businesses, and egregious breaches enforced. Groups of customers (one per group) and sole customers should be asked to provide contact details. This is to assist in tracing members of the group who may have been in contact with others and visited your establishment, and have since tested positive for Covid-19. Businesses will need to display the official NHS QR code posters so that customers can ‘check-in’ at different premises using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details.
The following information should be collected by the venue, where possible:
For staff
- the names of staff who work at the premises
- a contact phone number for each member of staff
- the dates and times that staff are at work
For customers and visitors
- the name of the customer or visitor. If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the ‘lead member’ of the group and the number of people in the group
- a contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people
- date of visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time
- if a customer will interact with only one member of staff, the name of the assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer
Do I need to have tables spaced 2 metres apart?
You need to have customers spaced 2 metres apart. If this cannot be achieved, the customers need to be no closer than 1 metre apart and either facing away from one another (at different tables) or some other mitigating measures such as a screen should be provided.
Making your workplace Covid-Secure
The UK Government has lots of guidance for businesses to help them ensure they are Covid-Secure.
This encourages businesses to carry out a risk assessment and helps to identify the workplace adjustments that they should make. Employers have the legal responsibility to protect their employees and other people on site, such as customers and visitors. The guidance will help businesses to easily find out what they should do. Employees can also use this to check what their workplace needs to do to keep people safe.