Welsh Government introduces legislation on social distancing

The Welsh government has introduced legislation to enforce the rule on people keeping a distance of two metres from each other – social distancing.

Prospect negotiator Daniel Maney attended a virtual meeting on 6 April when the First Minister of Wales briefed all the trade unions on the legislation, and how it would operate.

The new rules apply to workplaces not already covered by the original stay at home rules introduced almost two weeks ago.

The regulations mean the two-metre social distancing rule applies to outdoor spaces and any workplace, including homes, where work and repairs are being undertaken.

All businesses will have to take all reasonable measures to ensure the two-metre rule is maintained between people on their premises whenever work is being carried out.

An example used was that of a dentist who obviously cannot be two metres away from someone when extracting a tooth. This is why the legislation states where reasonable to do so.

At the meeting, the First Minister said that trade unions would be key to enforcing these new regulations and that he envisaged the legislation would be largely self-policing.

Most employers are carrying out these measures already; but he said that if union members had any queries, or examples of the rules not being followed, they should let their union know as soon as possible.

Daniel urged any members who had questions about the guidance, or examples of non-compliance, to contact him and he would raise them with the Welsh Government.

The implementation of the regulations will be reviewed in mid-April. So, Daniel also encouraged members to feed in any information about their impact.

You can find the Welsh Government’s guidance which accompanies the new legislation here.