Voluntary rules do not make it easy for companies to stay on the right side of health and safety law
A combination of “mixed messages” and “rather obvious statements” was the Institute of Directors’ summary of the government’s return to work guidance for businesses. You can see what it means. Statements do not come much more obvious than the official Whitehall-endorsed definition of a face covering as “something which safely covers your mouth and nose”.
The mixed messages are more serious. Face coverings are no longer required by law but the government, in its guidance for office, factories and labs, says it “expects and recommends” that people continue to wear them “in crowded, enclosed spaces”. It lists a series of actions companies could “consider”, such as putting up signs.
