Compulsory Wearing of Facemasks Indoors

[Chelseablue]

Anyone managed to get a flu jab yet ? Lol. If you work for Amazon youlle be fine , they get theres done in the workplace . As well as a fornightly Covid test . Royal mail have been very poor through all this .

[banner]

Have the appropriate risk assessments been taken at each site? Have the oxygen levels been tested at each site? Have the masks that are supplied passed any testing or accreditation? What are the supplied masks made of chemically?

The British Lung Foundation advises that “[w]earing a mask does not reduce a person’s oxygen supply,” even for those with lung conditions.

They do not reduce oxygen supply but they do reduce air volume intake. This means that a person's chest must work slightly harder to gain the same volume of air. This is not good if used over the long term and especially not for anyone with any kind of respiratory illness and it would be advised for those people, and even healthy people in my opinion, to wear a face or mouth/nose visor instead.

[POSTMAN]

Anyone managed to get a flu jab yet ? Lol. If you work for Amazon youlle be fine , they get theres done in the workplace . As well as a fornightly Covid test . Royal mail have been very poor through all this .

Many local Lloyds branches still have stocks of inoculations or are expecting further deliveries. To book a flu jab, contact a local branch of Lloyds Pharmacy or visit them in-store. If they have stock, they will book an appointment with you. If they don’t have stock currently available, they will advise if and when they will.

[Chelseablue]

Was told december at my local lloyds

[Celgar]

I suspect RM may have introduced this policy change because they are refusing to pay staff who have been advised by the government to not go to work during the current lockdown due to medical conditions such as breathing difficulties etc.

[POSTMAN]

Was told december at my local lloyds

Go un local...

[Cucumber]

So you dont have to wear one for your break and food , does the virus care that your on youre break and eating? Still no proper distancing , still some ppl not washing hands , its okay as longs the mail goes out tho .

Who is saying otherwise?

[Pumpernickel]

So what exactly does mandatory mean if anyone can just opt out without evidence?
Surely that's just voluntary.

That's how it's been since "mandatory masks" were pushed in certain places:

They're mandatory on public transport, unless you have an exception.

If you do have an exception you cannot be questioned about that exception. You do not need to provide "proof", but can (if you WANT to) show a doctors letter or piece of paper with a thing printed on it that amounts to nothing more than a picture available to anyone looking on the .gov webservice.

It's a cowardly governments attempt to appease everyone: they make masks "mandatory" with exceptions for certain groups, and enable any and everyone to bypass the mandate by not enforcing any burden of proof thus allowing anyone an exception.

[Zicomurphy]

When wearing a face covering you should:

wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on
avoid wearing on your neck or forehead
avoid touching the part of the face covering in contact with your mouth and nose, as it could be contaminated with the virus
change the face covering if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it
avoid taking it off and putting it back on a lot in quick succession (for example, when leaving and entering shops on a high street)
When removing a face covering:

wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before removing
only handle the straps, ties or clips
do not give it to someone else to use
if single-use, dispose of it carefully in a residual waste bin and do not recycle
if reusable, wash it in line with manufacturer’s instructions at the highest temperature appropriate for the fabric
wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser once removed



I assume Royal Mail are going to make every employee aware of the above guidelines and make it part of a managers job that these guidelines are followed? I’ve nothing against the wearing of masks but the way I see it done it my office I wonder if it’s reducing the risk or increasing it.

[Zicomurphy]

Interesting article here from the BMJ from back in April about possible negative side effects of the public wearing face masks.

https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1435/rr-40" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Taken from that, this is what worries me

2) Inappropriate use of face mask: people must not touch their masks, must change their single-use masks frequently or wash them regularly, dispose them correctly and adopt other management measures, otherwise their risks and those of others may increase.[3,4]

[malawihap]

This company is f***ing backwards. Social distance inside the office(hahaha) and wear masks. But then go out and share a van after it because we won’t spend an extra penny on more vans. They really sicken me at times.

Exactly its cheaper than the proper measure IE enforcing social distancing meaning working in staggered start times ,and no van sharing but of course they wont want to enforce that as like toonshola, said it would mean having to spend money on hired vans and god forbid that they would have to spend proper money protecting us. Instead its another public stunt to make it look like they really care ,but we all know they dont give a s**t.

Can't really work staggered start times in winter . It's dark when you start and dark when you finish and thats just normal start times. If you started 2 hrs later you'd be delivering 2 hrs in darkness.

Well i come in 2 hours later voluntarily with another 3 of us out of an office of over 45 postman can you believe that there is only 4 of us who were prepared to try and make it safer for everyone ,but the other 41 postman would rather still work shoulder to shoulder with each other because they obviously value risking catching this virus so that they can continue carving up there dutys to get back early. Honestly social distancing in our office is a joke .
The DOM is too lazy to organize any sort of structured start times , and has infact been trying to bully one of the late starters into coming in early as he is worried about losing us 4 as sorters in the morning with xmas around the corner, plus he is getting it in the neck from several postman saying we are getting away with 20 to 30 mins of office sorting in the mornings because we come in once all the office sorting has been done. Yet i dont see any of them volunteering to come in a bit later and rotate with us so that we can have some early starts . So if it means me being that little bit safer and having to deliver in the dark so be it.

[par4mrl]

I wear glasses so I can’t see with one on and I can’t see if I wear one without glasses on

[k979aaa]

We need better ways of combating this virus face masks only work for those who are properly trained in use disposal and cleanliness of the use of and situations of hand cleaners stations. Don't get me wrong face mask do have a place and that place is in hospitals and care homes and Airplanes but most other situations can be managed by distancing yourself as masks will not help if your all crowded together in any way!

[Woody Guthrie]

I think a lot of people are getting confused with the guidance for going to the shops and the difference in a workplace.

This is from the Business Disability Forum who know what they're talking about.

What does this mean for employers?

It is now the legal duty of employers to ensure that all staff working in environments outlined in law and in public-facing roles wear a face covering at all times when doing their job. It is the responsibility of the employee to share that they may have an exemption and must be able to provide a reasonable justification as to why their disability or condition prevents them from wearing a face covering.

As this is a legal instruction, employees cannot refuse to wear a face covering other than for the reasons outlined under exemption rules. For example, an employee cannot refuse to wear a face covering due to beliefs or opinions about face coverings. If an employee refuses to wear a face covering when instructed to under reasonable grounds, the employee can be asked to leave the working premises.

Making reasonable adjustments for employees who cannot wear face coverings

Some employees might be exempt from wearing a face covering or find it hard to do so because of a disability or condition. However, it is still the duty of the employer to ensure that all adjustments are considered and that supportive conversations take place between an employee and their manager. For some employees, this could be the first time they are telling an employer about a disability or condition.

It is the Health and safety at work act that places the legal obligation on the business to provide a safe workplace for all employees. The Coronavirus rules for shopping have nothing to do with it.

[frankieboy]

Was told today if anyone found not wearing a mask without a good reason will be sent home without pay.