COVER STORY
FACE COVERINGS SGF LEGAL ADVICE
‘DON’T REFUSE SERVICE TO UNMASKED SHOPPERS’ FOLLOWING A NUMBER OF LEGAL ISSUES AROUND THE WEARING OF FACE COVERINGS BY SHOPPERS IN-STORE, SGF IS ADVISING RETAILERS NOT TO REFUSE TO SERVE SHOPPERS WITHOUT MASKS.
KEY POINTS Q Retailers cannot demand that an individual customer produce some form of exemption certificate. Q The choice to carry an exemption certificate is the individual customer’s and there is no legal obligation upon them to do so. Q If a customer says they are exempt from wearing a mask, there is no legal way of challenging them. Q It is the customer’s responsibility and consequently enforcement does not rest with the retailer but with the police.
D
espite the high profile stance of several supermarkets who have denied entry to shoppers not wearing face coverings, the Scottish Grocers’
Federation (SGF) is advising retailers that they should not refuse to serve customers who are not wearing masks. The SGF decided to take formal legal advice on the matter after several
10 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 46 / WEDNESDAY 10TH MARCH 2021
of its members received emails from lawyers representing disgruntled customers who were claiming harassment and seeking damages after retailers asked them to leave their
