Grammar question - is this Government Guidance poorly written?

[chomalungma]

Hospitality venues must refuse entry to a customer or visitor who does not provide their name and contact details, is not in a group (for which one other member has provided name and contact details), or who has not scanned the NHS QR code.

www.gov.uk/guidance/maintaining-records-of-staff-customers-and-visitors-to-support-nhs-test-and-trace

I know what the rules are. I know what they are trying to say

But reading this - could it be interpreted as

Anyone who does not provide their contact details must be refused entry

OR

anyone who has not scanned the QR code must be refused entry?

OR

Anyone not in a group must be refused entry?

So if you belong to any of those categories, then you are refused entry?

I think that's an interpretation of the commas in the list.

What do people think?

Yes, any one fitting any of those three criteria must be refused entry. But they are linked alternatives.
So you should give your name and contact details or scan the NHS QR code unless you are part of a group for whom someone has provided name and contact details.

There has to be a better way of writing it.

Someone can only be allowed entry if they have given their name and contact details or scanned the NHS QR code or if they are part of a group for whom someone has provided name and contact details,

I think there's too many negatives in the original guidance.

Lawyer here. Needs to be redrafted as follows:

Hospitality venues must refuse entry to a customer or visitor who:

A) does not provide their name and contact details;
B) is not in a group (for which one other member has provided name and contact details); or
C) has not scanned the NHS QR code.

That said, I hardly think the current government are great respecters of the law after recent shenanigans - do you?

@Piglet89

Wouldn't that need an 'either' in that statement

OR

Hospitality venues may only admit a customer or visitor who:

A) has provided their name and contact details or scanned the QR code;
B) is a member of a group, a fellow member of which has provided name and contact details or scanned the NHS QR code.

That said, I hardly think the current government are great respecters of the law after recent shenanigans - do you?

Don’t know why i repeated the last sentence; I feel doubly strongly about it!

@Piglet89

I like that.

Especially the semi-colon

PRIDE

The gift of drafting.

So if people tend to lie - Mr Mickey Mouse, Toy Town etc the venue might be in trouble thus they probably want to see some proof of (A) such as original passport or driving licence or utility bill

It's clear enough if you read the guidance further up.

It reads fine to me. If you fit any of the three categories, you will be refused entry.

@KrisAkabusi

It reads fine to me. If you fit any of the three categories, you will be refused entry.

So if you are not in a group (where one of the group members has provided details), they you will be refused entry?

Which is hard for anyone dining alone.

@KrisAkabusi

It reads fine to me. If you fit any of the three categories, you will be refused entry.

That's precisely the problem: you only need to do one of the three things in the list. You should therefore be refused entry only if you fit ALL THREE of the categories, not just any single one of the three. It should say "and" instead of "or".

No, it's clear that you need to do one of the things. So, if you don't do any of the things you must be refused entry.

I believe the venue is legally required to ask for contact details, I do not believe that there is any requirement on the venue to verify the details provided.

@Piglet89
Should there be an 'or' or an 'and' at the end of A in your post? Or should 'or' or 'and' be included in a preliminary sentence? I guess from the context it's 'or' but the text itself still seems ambiguous to me.

@Palavah

No, it's clear that you need to do one of the things. So, if you don't do any of the things you must be refused entry.

It's a list.

So another example. (hypothetical but just using the same idea of negatives)

You can be refused entry if you are under 18 or if you are not British.

So if you are under 18 but are British, would you be allowed in?

@AuditAngel

I believe the venue is legally required to ask for contact details, I do not believe that there is any requirement on the venue to verify the details provided.

I know what the venue is supposed to do and is allowed to do. I am just talking about if you think this particular sentence makes sense.

@Plbrookes yes - there should be an “or” between the two phrases. In my haste and eagerness to redraft the phrase to get rid of the double negative, I omitted the “or”.

Yes, that’s badly drafted. I think they need an “unless”:

Hospitality venues must refuse entry to a customer or visitor who does not provide their name and contact details (unless is in a group for which one other member has provided name and contact details); or who has not scanned the NHS QR code.