To think retail staff should be wearing masks too?

[cccro]

Sorry if this has already been posted.
Today I went to a few shops.
Wilkos -no staff wearing masks,yes screens at tills but staff at door and walking around aren't wearing masks.
Primark -no staff wearing masks
Superdrug -no staff wearing masks

What's the rule here?
Are sales assistants immune from catching covid?
I don't understand why they aren't wearing masks?

I'm really surprised how people are struggling to understand this.

It's going to be unpleasant for many retail staff to wear a mask for a whole 8 - 12+ hour shift. I know HCPs are used to wearing masks, but shop staff are not.

Some staff may choose to wear a mask if they wish, but the whole point of shoppers wearing them is to protect others during their 10 - 30 minute visit to the shop.

You are protecting others who cannot wear masks - that includes shoppers with medical conditions and the staff who are there for hours on end.

I work in retail and we have to wear masks unless exempt for health reasons. We do a lot of heavy lifting which is tough going in the masks but why should we expect customers to wear them but not us?

@ChristmasCarcass healthcare workers are coming into close contact a lot more than retail staff ever will. If everyone is following the 2 meter social distancing then they shouldn't be that close to any staff working in a shop. I don't think you can compare anyone in a healthcare setting to retail workers.

@cccro

The staff will be coming into contact with hundreds of people a day ..so shouldn't they be wearing masks to protect us?

Mother of a child working in retail here, so this might be colouring my judgement. However:

Lockdown announced, people stay home and go FUCKING BONKERS ordering off every website imaginable, getting deliveries (from people not allowed to lockdown)
A gazillion judgy posts on here declaring smugly that "we've not left the house since march". Condeming everyone else ("shall I report my neighbour?")

Staff (including me) in schools throughout. Actively encouraged NOT to wear a mask and "oh, we know children wont really socially distance". A gazillion more posts on here.

But no, it's all those workers who should be protecting YOU.
If you're that bothered, stay home.
We haven't had that option.

Those of us who weren't afforded that luxury will keep doing our jobs.
When you're out there every day, having to do everything the science says you shouldn't, but having to do it anyway, cos the gvt says someone has to; you stop being scared after a while.

I work for one of the big supermarkets, and all staff at our branch are wearing face coverings, unless sat at a till behind perspex. (They have to put a mask on when leaving their till though). Luckily I've been issued a visor as my role means I'm customer facing the entire shift, and cannot always be 2 metres away from customers/other staff members. After the initial couple of shifts getting used to it, I'm fine with it, it's just part of my uniform now. I wouldn't want to wear a mask for any entended period of time though, half an hour, and it's too much. I'm guessing most retail places can't afford/can't get hold of enough visors for all the staff, and forcing them to wear a mask for 10 hour shifts wouldn't go down well.

@MinnieMousse I live in France and most retail staff have been wearing masks at least since they became available to the general public in April Possibly before, I can't remember and DH did most of the shopping during the confinement. Shops/pharmacies weren't allowed to sell them before that to keep them available for essential workers

I didn't realise retail staff in the U.K. weren't wearing them already. Many shops here have screens and masks as well. Yes they are hot and uncomfortable but I don't see the point unless the majority of people wear them.

I do really feel for the people who work in environments where masks have been a necessity for a long time - yes, it must take some getting used to wearing a mask for hours on end, however more comfortable than either getting Covid yourself or passing it on to someone more vulnerable.
I have been wearing masks if I have to go in to a shop for a few weeks now, I certainly wouldn't be happy to work in one without wearing a mask.

Jakobabear You've misunderstood the regulations, it doesn't just apply to clinical staff, it is all NHS employees.

Our estates team don't come into contact with patients, and they have to wear a mask for their whole shift. Our managers and medical secretaries are in an entirely separate building from the clinical areas, over the other side of the car park. They still have to wear a mask all day, even if they are alone in the office.

I went in today to do some admin on my day off, didn't see a single patient, and was in a huge communal office with only one other person in it, probably about 5m away from me. Still both had to wear masks.

Obviously it's not up to me how other people run their businesses, but there's a definite lack of consistency in the regulations.

I work in retail and wear my visor daily for my entire shift and have done since going back in June. It took a few days to get used to it but it just feels like part of the uniform now. I would feel daft asking customers to wear one in my shop if I myself didn’t have one on.

in every shop I've been in most of the staff are wearing masks or visors (Scotland)

@VictoriousSockPuppet spot on! I'm a retail worker and we've said exactly the same, we haven't had the chance to stay at home scared and just has to get on with it.

We would have loved to be furloughed and stay home safe but instead we've put up with physical and verbal abuse day in day out and now we get grief for not wearing a mask.

John Lewis Edinburgh yesterday every single member of staff had a mask on.

@ChristmasCarcass I understand quite clearly, my mother is a cardiac intensive care nurse so I'm familiar with the rules regarding masks in the NHS.

Resignations would follow. Imagine 10 hours in a mask, 5 or 6 days a week. It's a practical compromise to keep shops open and the economy working.

All staff in my Tesco are wearing masks unless they're behind a screen. Same in Waitrose and John Lewis.

You realise that your' kids' teachers have been told by govt not to wear masks in September, right?

(and weren't allowed to wear them over the last few months when they were in school)

All the staff in my local Primark wear masks. I'm in Scotland though, so possibly a bit stricter?
I actually feel for the staff, as it's so hot in there at the best of times, never mind with a mask.

In Asda today, almost everyone (staff and customers) were wearing masks. Although some customers seemed to think it’s ok to have the mask pulled down below their nose which defeats the object.

All the shops I've been in for the last 3 weeks almost have had staff wearing masks (or behind perspex).

I'm in Scotland though and face coverings were compulsory from 10th July. @cccro /previous posters are you in England? Are shop workers exempt from them?! That doesn't make sense!! Or have I misunderstood and shop staff are just not bothering?

Have to say vast vast majority of people are wearing them in my area - you not8if someone isn't. I'm sure there are some using the exemptions as a "get out" but equally know of several who would be exempt eg due to asthma and autism who are adapting and wearing scarf or bandana over mouth and nose instead rather than nothing at all.

*notice...
Also aware that some individuals are genuinely unable to wear a face covering but honestly don't really see many without anything at all.

It's down to the Company whether staff have to wear masks or not. My company (a massive supermarket chain) are encouraging it but it's not mandatory. I couldnt think of anything worse than doing a night shift stocking up shelves in a mask so I chose not to. However, when my shift is over I do wear a mask to shop!

@VictoriousSockPuppet I am in complete agreement with you. 🙋‍♀️

I don't blame any retail staff who choose not to wear masks as retail can be hot and tiring work at the best of times. A mask would make things even more uncomfortable.

So you want poorly paid staff to wear a mask for 8 hours so you can pop in for some floor wipes?

I work in a supermarket. I work 5days a week, at least 8hrs a day. Fortunately I spend most of it behind the customer service desk so I dont have to wear a mask. Most of my job is about communicating with customers - explaining policies, asking questions about returns, dealing with phone calls, making store announcements etc - and masks make that job 100 times harder. Even on a checkout you need to be able to communicate with customers, hence no masks required. Shop floor staff only have to interact with customers if someone actively approaches them for help so wearing a mask doesnt impact them being able to do their job to the same extent.

I also have to wear a headset which reduces my hearing, which I struggle with especially since everyone is wearing masks and I am also behind a screen and I wear glasses. Even when I try all the tricks to stop them flogging up (shaving foam/washing up liquid on the lenses; microporus tape or tissues at the top of the mask; nose wires and putting my glasses over my mask etcetc) they only work so well and for so long, especially if I'm doing something strenuous and am breathing heavier so the lenses fog up quicker.

Wearing all three together - mask, glasses and headset - made me feel claustrophobic and within about 15 minutes of the first time I wore all three I had to take the mask off because I could feel the beginning of an anxiety attack. I have to wear my glasses to see, the headset is necessary for me to do my job and so the mask is the only "optional" item.

If I go onto the shop floor for a short period of time - eg to check a price for a customer or to return an item - then I will wear a mask, but if I do a job such as manning the self scan checkouts or supervising the checkouts, where I am not behind a desk or till, then I won't wear a mask as I physically cannot cope with wearing it for long periods but I also can't choose not to do my job.

@Jakobabear

I don't understand why people are demanding staff wear them now when they have worked all the way throughout this, especially when the virus was at it's peak, without one? Retail staff are having a hard enough time from customers as it is without them getting hassle for not wearing a mask.

This. We got numbers down to 1 in thousands without them, but suddenly they're essential. It's just populist politicking.