Police / lockdown 'enforcement' needs to focus on business and employers NOT individuals

[FusionChefGeoff]

There are so many threads on here plus examples I see in daily life of employers doing the absolute bare minimum (if anything at all) to keep employees and the public safe.

Before there's any tightening of existing rules, the police / HSE / LA need to crack down on these employers and not worry about people walking with friends or driving to local beauty spots.

The risk of transmission inside offices and shops / takeaway cafes / anything else that's still open is ASTRONOMICAL without proper measures and the amount of businesses stretching the WFH 'unless you cannot' advice is ridiculous.

If they slammed down on offices particularly that could make a huge difference.

I think both are important tbh.

You're absolutely right that some employers are part of the problem. I know several people who wfh during the first lockdown, and believe that they did so quite effectively, but they are not being permitted to wfh this time. Some employers still have a very strong focus on presenteeism, even when there is no obvious productivity gain. They are definitely not adhering to the wfh if possible guidelines, and this needs to be tackled.

At the same time, a lot of people are using the "exercise with a friend" rule to socialise, and I don't think this is helpful. Personally, I think exercise should be restricted to members of the same household, with support bubbles remaining in place for those who need them.

I think non-essential shops like garden centres should close, and nurseries should be open to vulnerable and key worker children only. It seems absurd to me that we have closed schools while keeping the nurseries open.

I also think that legitimate support bubbles should have to be registered in some way, as too many people are abusing this system and constantly swapping "bubbles" to enable them to socialise with whoever they choose.

It's a shit time for all of us, but our NHS staff are on their knees and we need to do everything we can to reduce transmission, otherwise people will die unnecessarily - of covid and non-covid causes - because our hospitals will be overwhelmed. This could affect any one of us.

My understanding is that the rules on workplaces are often quite vague, so could be difficult for the police to enforce. But I completely agree the government should be doing more to make workplaces safer.

Re the police, I believe their focus should be on breaches that pose the highest risk, which basically means indoor breaches, particularly those involving significant numbers of people (eg parties).

The guidelines are vague - but equally they have quite a strong focus on a risk assessment and it is the employers responsibility to justify / prove they are providing a safe workplace.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of these places won't have a risk assessment that could be produced as, if they did, it would be blindingly obvious to them they weren't doing everything they could do - so that would be a quick, easy win for enforcement.

I think a little enforcement goes a long way. There is zero point in making a law if it not enforced,

Police should not be needlessly aggressive, but do need to ask where people are going from time to time and issue fines if they are in breach of actual laws (not guidance).

If we want a ‘lockdown’ to do its job and save lives, people should not feel that it is optional or that they can use what they would term ‘common sense’ (but is frequently anything but.

The above should apply to both individuals and work places.

I don't think the police can be tasked with enforcement in workplaces - that should be down to HSE, and the police effort should focus on enforcement in the community. I think the difficulty is that HSE probably has no idea what is happening in individual workplaces unless employees choose to whistle blow. Lots of places claim to be covid-safe when they are anything but.

Totally agree.
Individuals taking outdoor exercise in their 'area' are not spreading the virus.
The police should undertake the trickier task of policing businesses remaining open that are non-essential, requiring staff to use public transport, exposing staff to the virus, exposing customers to the virus, encouraging customers to make non-essential journeys.