On the 31st July, the Government updated their advice for wearing face coverings in indoor public places in England (separate guidance applied for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). The expanded the list of places where coverings are required to include ‘premises providing professional services’. This updated guidance became law from 8th August 2020. The full guidance can be viewed here.

Is it law?

Yes. This was brought into law under The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020 which makes it an offence not to wear a face covering in the situations specified within the legislation.

What consitutes a face covering?

The Government guidance specifies that a face covering should securely fit against the side of the face and should cover your nose and mouth (whilst allowing you to breathe comfortably). The relevant section of the guidance is here. My reading of this section is that visors alone would not meet this definition.

Are we exempt?

The guidance outlines certain circumstances where face coverings are not mandatory. The full list can be viewed here, I have outlined some of the more relevant points below.

Employees of Indoor Settings

Employees are not required to wear a face covering in an indoor setting unless their employer requires a face covering as part of their Health and Safety Risk Assessment. If you are self employed (or an employee of your own limited company), it is up to you to decide whether or not you wish to wear a face covering.

Lip Reading and Mental Distress

Face coverings are not required if wearing them would cause mental distress or you are speaking to someone who relies on lip reading or facial expressions in order to communicate.

Exemptions

There is an exemption allowed for anyone who has a valid medical reason not to wear a face covering.

COVID Agreements

In my opinion, my practice is included in these regulations and as such from 8th August, I will be asking anyone attending face to face sessions to wear a mask upon entering and leaving my office. Once we are sat down, clients will have the option to remove their face covering (as my counselling chairs are socially distanced). I have emailed my existing clients to advise them of this change and I have updated my COVID agreement for any future clients.

An updated version of the template COVID agreement is available as a free download when you join my mailing list (you can do that here). If you are already on my mailing list, I sent out an email on 20th August which contained a link to the updated version. If you are having any problems accessing the new version, please email me on info@businessofcounselling.com.


For further reading on returning to face to face sessions, read my blog series.

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