1 March 2022
Latest NHBF update – 01 March 2022
This week’s update covers:
- Working Safely Guidance Update
- Living with COVID webinar
- Cyber security action
- Sick pay rebate to end
- Video surveillance guidance
- Customer comms best practice
- Rent debt guidance
Working Safely Guidance Update
The Working Safely guidance for close contact services such as Hair & Beauty has been updated to reflect the change announced by the PM last week.
The latest update says people who test positive for COVID-19, and contacts who are not fully vaccinated, are no longer legally required to self-isolate. People who test positive for COVID-19 should continue to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. Fully vaccinated contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19 are no longer advised to test for seven days.
Please note that the information in this factsheet was correct at the time of writing. For further information, please contact the legal helpline for further support.
Since 24 February 2022, most of the remaining COVID-19 guidance in England has been lifted. This means that the Government is no longer asking you to:
- ask every customer or visitor aged 16 or over to ‘check in’ by scanning the NHS COVID-19 QR code poster using the NHS COVID-19 app or providing their name and telephone number
- keep a record of all staff working on your premises, including their shift times and dates, and contact details
- keep records of customers, visitors, and staff for 21 days to support NHS Test and Trace
As people no longer need to check-in, please remove any NHS COVID-19 QR code posters or any systems you use to collect contact details at your venue. Please delete any saved personal information you may have recorded since you’ve been asking people to check-in.
You can read the full Government guidance here.
Read NHBF four nations FAQ on the latest guidance and complying with GDPR.
Living with COVID webinar
There is also an opportunity to hear more on what these changes mean for your communities at the Communities Webinar on Wednesday 2 March at 11 am.
Claire Pimm, Director of the National Resilience Hub in the Cabinet Office, will present the government plan. There will be plenty of opportunities to put questions forward.
If you would like to submit your questions in advance, please email community.resources@dhsc.gov.uk
To attend, please register here.
Sick pay rebate to end
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will end on 17 March, with an additional week (until 24 Mar) for employers to make their claims for the period 21 December-17 March.
Employees can ‘self-certify’ their sick leave for up to seven calendar days of absence.
If they are off for longer than this, they must give you a doctor’s note.
Your employee’s entitlement to annual leave will not be affected if they take time off sick. It will still build up in the same way while they are off. And you cannot force your employee to take annual leave instead of sick leave.
Read NHBF blog on handling sick leave in your salon or barbershop.
Cyber security action
NHBF Members will no doubt be aware of the current situation in Ukraine. In light of this, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) urges all organisations of all sizes to follow actionable steps that reduce the risk of falling victim to a cyber-attack.
While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been a historical pattern of cyber-attacks on Ukraine with international consequences.
To report a cyber-security incident, visit https://report.ncsc.gov.uk/.
Video surveillance guidance
The Information Commissioner's Office has produced guidance for businesses on the rules around video surveillance, such as CCTV, and the data protection implications.
NHBF Members who have CCTV should ensure the following:
- CCTV avoid any unintentional capture of private land or individuals not visiting the premises.
- There are visible signs showing that CCTV is in operation. Contact details are displayed on the sign(s) if it is not obvious who is responsible for the system.
- Securely store images from this system for a defined period and only a limited number of authorised individuals may have access to them.
Customer comms best practice
The National Cyber Security Centre has published advice for businesses on how to communicate with customers via phone and SMS in a way that will not get legitimate messages mistaken for fraud or phishing attempts while making it harder for malicious messages to be effective.
These best practices will go a long way to help your clients identify legitimate messages. They also make it easier for the authorities to track and stop fraud on telecoms networks.
- Keep messages simple and consistent
- Use minimal phone numbers, SenderIDs and email addresses
- Publicise your contact details - The numbers and email addresses, websites and SenderIDs
- Do not ask for personal details
- Use links sparingly and make them human readable
- Provide a way for your clients to independently check your communications
- Provide a means for your clients to contact you independently
- Provide guidance on how clients can report scams
Rent debt guidance
The draft guidance setting out how the arbitration process in England and Wales to deal with rent debt accumulated during the pandemic will work has been published.