As sectors of the economy safely reopen under Covid-19 secure guidelines, here is a simple summary of the records you will need to keep for 21 days to help NHS Test and Trace combat the virus.

If you are in the hospitality, tourism & leisure or close contact services sector or you are a local authority or a place of worship, you will need to maintain records of staff, customers and visitors to support NHS Test and Trace.

Maintaining records will help NHS Test and Trace to contain outbreaks of Covid-19.

What information should be collected?

staff

  • the names of staff who work at the premises
  • a contact phone number for each member of staff
  • the dates and times that staff are at work

customers and visitors

  • the name of the customer or visitor. If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the ‘lead member’ of the group and the number of people in the group
  • a contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people
  • date of visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time
  • if a customer will interact with only one member of staff (e.g. a hairdresser), the name of the assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer

If you do not collect this information in advance, it should be collected as visitors enter your premises. Ideally the data should be recorded digitally, but paper is acceptable too.

Your customers should be encouraged to share their details, but can choose to opt out. You do not have to verify the data they give you – its accuracy is their responsibility.

You need to keep the details you have collected for 21 days, complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after which you should securely dispose of or delete it. Further guidance is available here.

Contact from NHS Test and Trace

If NHS Test and Trace ask for your records, it will be because someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 has listed your premises as a place they recently visited or because your premises has been identified as the location of a potential local outbreak.

You may not necessarily need to close your premises. NHS Test and Trace will work with you to assess the actions you will need to take.

In addition to the NHS Test and Trace system, you should contact your local health protection team if there is more than one case of Covid-19 on your premises.

 

Wayne Thomas, partner at Bates Weston comments:

“ Collecting this information is an essential part of safely reopening your business. By supporting the NHS Test and Trace efforts, any local outbreaks can be contained rapidly, hopefully preventing the need for the reintroduction of local or national lockdown measures.”