Tag: hospitality industry

New safety regulations for hospitality from today

From today it is mandatory for hospitality settings to collect the contact details of visitors to their premises in support of Test and Protect. The new regulations apply to restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels in which food or drink are sold for consumption on the premises.

These businesses must now record the name and contact number of an individual – or lead member of each household in a group – that visits the premises.

They must also record the date of the visit, the time of arrival, and where possible the departure time.

The new regulations include customers, staff working on a particular day and visitors such as delivery drivers or cleaners.

Premises must store the information for 21 days and share it when requested to do so by public health officers within 24 hours.

New statutory guidance for the hospitality sector has been published which explains how to keep a record of customer and visitor contact details securely ensuring data protection principles are upheld.

The Scottish Government has also published updated guidance for hospitality customers to reinforce key safety measures.

This includes the need to maintain physical distancing and the strict limits on the number of households that can meet at a time – 8 people from up to 3 households indoors and 15 people from up to 5 households outdoors.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “While many hospitality businesses have acted responsibly by adhering to the voluntary approach of collecting customer details, unfortunately too many others have not, and so – given the established high risk of virus transmission within hospitality settings – we have decided to make this mandatory.

“Strengthening this requirement to collect and share the data by moving it from guidance into regulations ensures that in the event of an outbreak, through the Test and Protect process, it will be possible to get in touch with anyone identified as a close contact who was present at the same time as an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“This will help us break chains of transmission while continuing to allow us to socialise and support our local businesses.

“It is worth stressing that for those hospitality venues which are already complying with guidance, they will see minimal change to their procedures and operations.”

Chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association Emma McClarkin said: “The majority of Scotland’s pubs and bars had already gone above and beyond in putting measures in place to keep customers safe during this time.

“These changes today will help ensure those premises which have fallen short no longer do so, and we welcome that clarity.

“We’re all in this together and the stronger we are now, the sooner we will be able to see these restrictions disappear.”

Read the regulations

A failure to have the required arrangements in place will be punishable by a Fixed Penalty Notice under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. A continuing failure could be enforced by repeated fines of up to £960.

Read the hospitality statutory guidance

Read the guidance on the collection of customer contact details

Read the hospitality and tourism customer guidance

STUC warns hospitality employers not to pass the burden onto workers as businesses reopen

Edinburgh pub worker calls on hospitality staff to join a union

Commenting on the re-opening of indoors hospitality, Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the STUC has reminded employers that workers are preparing to resist detrimental changes to contracts and conditions associated with the safe return to work.

Roz Foyer said: “Indoor hospitality re-opening safely depends on changes to working conditions. But these must not be allowed to come at a cost to workers.

“Workers are the heart of hospitality, but for too long employers have been able to pass the unstable condition of the industry onto their staff.

“We will not forget the businesses who refused to furlough their staff during this pandemic, and who have treated workers callously with attempts to make them sign away their terms and conditions in order to ringfence profit or prevent unexpected costs.

“From cafes like Coias in Dennistoun to cinema chains like Cineworld, workers have come together to win their demands in the return to work period.

“If you are asked to work differently or to sign a new contract, don’t accept, delay, and work out with your colleagues whether you are happy with the proposal. Then join a union and take action.”

Matthew Waddell, 19, who returned to work at the Diggers pub yesterday, urged workers to be prepared to resist the prospect of changes to work and conditions.

He said: “The incoming economic crisis should be a call to all workers to join unions, unionise their workplaces and make sure those unions are active.

“The precarious nature of hospitality work and the effect a COVID recession will have on it makes unionisation all the more urgent.

“The Better Than Zero campaign against precarious work is on hand to give guidance and support for hospitality workers and any other workers who do not have unions.”

Quarantini Boxes to Keep Edinburgh Thriving

With lockdown restrictions for the hospitality industry expected to extend for weeks to come, Robbie Allen, founder of ‘Keep Edinburgh Thriving’ has diversified his business offering to incorporate the ‘Quarantini Box’. 

Each Quarantini Box will be filled with cocktails lovingly crafted by Edinburgh bartenders and restaurateurs as well as beers and spirits from local distilleries and breweries.

Serving as a critical business lifeline for the hospitality industry, Robbie Allen plans to work with new bars and restaurants each week so the people of Edinburgh can support multiple hospitality businesses at the same time through the regular purchase of a Quarantini Box, which will be delivered free of charge every Friday & Saturday. 

The decision to diversify the business offering to support the hospitality industry is a direct result of customer driven demand with Allen confirming that he has sold over 2,000 Keep Edinburgh Thriving boxes (2,011 to be exact), generating over £55,000 in revenue for 47 local Edinburgh businesses in only 6 weeks. 

Robbie Allen, founder of Keep Edinburgh Thriving said: “We have been completely overwhelmed with the support we have seen for Keep Edinburgh Thriving and it’s been amazing to be able to support local independents to stay in business through such a tough time.  

“Our local bars and restaurants are expected to stay closed until at least July or early August so we want to support them as much as we can as well as bring a little bit of the Edinburgh bar scene to customers across the city who will be missing their favourite bars and restaurants.” 

Nick Robinson, Owner of Tonic Bar Edinburgh comments: “In this difficult time the Quarantini Box allows Tonic as a team to bring a little bit of normality back into our lives.

“We can’t wait to have our doors open again, to see our customers enjoy themselves and put this all behind us, but as our doors are closed we are accumulating substantial amounts of debt each week via fixed costs and the Quarantini Box will allow us to generate some revenue to reduce this debt.”

There are two box sizes of gift box available – a small box contains four cocktails and one beer (£39) and a large box contains six cocktails and one beer (£55). Each Quarantini box also contains garnishes, serve instructions and pick n mix. All you need is a glass and some ice.

If customers want to enhance their at home experience, they can add a cocktail shaker for only £5.

Rachel Bailey-Palumbo, Director at Hey Palu, said: “Hey Palu is still relatively new to the Edinburgh bar scene (under a year old), so the impact of COVID-19 and having to close our doors has felt particularly devastating.

“COVID-19 has meant we have had to think on our feet to diversify and has led to the creation of our ‘Hey Palu at Home’ ready to drink cocktails. When the opportunity arose to partner with the Thriving Box Company we were extremely excited.

“Their clever concept gives people both the opportunity to support Edinburgh small businesses like ourselves and try new products, whilst also opening up the possibility for us to engage with new customers, who we hope will become regulars once we are able to open again.”

Menu for delivery weekend of 22nd May will include:

  • Espresso Mart-ana-tini from Buck & Birch
  • Banana Daiquiri from Hey Palu
  • Negroni from Old Poison Distillery
  • Starburst from Tonic
  • Gluten free lager from Bellfield Brewery

To help support the local community further during this epidemic, £2 from each gift box sale will be donated to the Edinburgh Food Project.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has caused a sudden, steep decline in business for cafes, restaurants, boutiques, artisans, creators and local retailers.

For more information about how to support your local high street and keep Edinburgh Thriving, visit www.keepedinburghthriving.com