Covid-19
(Workplace Restrictions) (Jersey) Regulations 2020
1 Interpretation
(1) In
these Regulations –
“enforcement officer” has the
meaning assigned by Regulation 4(1);
“Health and Safety Law” means the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989;
“Medical Officer of Health” means a person appointed as such under
Article 10 of the Loi (1934) sur la Santé Publique;
“Minister” means the Minister for Health and Social Services;
“notice” means an improvement notice or a prohibition notice;
“occupier” in relation to a workplace means –
(a) a person who is entitled
to occupy the workplace or part of the workplace to the exclusion of the owner;
or
(b) if there is no such
person, the owner of the workplace or part of the workplace;
“open” in relation to a workplace means open to access by any person
for the purpose of the person’s work;
“publish” means publish online or in any other manner appearing to
the person publishing to be likely to bring the matter published to the
attention of those whom it concerns;
“relevant guidance” means –
(a) any guidance published
for the purpose of these Regulations, by the Minister or by the Medical Officer
of Health;
(b) any relevant code of
practice approved under Article 10 of the Health and Safety Law; and
(c) any standards produced by
any other person or body that is endorsed by the Minister;
“relevant personal data”
means –
(a) a
person’s name and documentation providing proof of identity;
(b) a person’s contact
details;
(c) the date, time and
duration of the person’s presence at a workplace;
(d) where in the workplace
the person was present; and
(e) any other data that the
Minister may specify by Order;
“restriction Order” means an Order made under Regulation 2;
“restriction period” means a period specified under Regulation 2(4);
“specified” means specified in a restriction Order;
“workplace” means the part of a building, place, vehicle, vessel or
aircraft in which a person carries out work within the meaning of Article 1(2)
of the Health and Safety Law other than –
(a) construction work within
the meaning of the Health and Safety (Management in Construction)
(Jersey) Regulations 2016; or
(b) work undertaken in a
private dwelling, vehicle or vessel by one person alone (with no physical
contact with any other person other than a member of the person’s household).[2]
(2) Nothing in these Regulations is to be read
as derogating from any provision of or under the Health and Safety Law.
(3) A power to publish any guidance includes
the power to vary or revoke the guidance.
2 Period of restricted opening of workplaces
(1) The Minister may make a restriction Order if
the Minister, after consulting the Medical Officer of Health, is satisfied
that, in relation to workplaces, the risk or potential risk to public health
caused by Covid-19 is such that it is proportionate and necessary to do so.
(2) The Minister must, before making a
restriction Order, consult the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism,
Sport and Culture and, if reasonably practicable, the Health and Social
Security Scrutiny Panel.
(3) A restriction Order may contain any of the
provisions set out in Regulation 3.
(4) The Order must specify a restriction period
during which the Order applies by declaring that the period starts on a
specified date, being no sooner than the coming into force of the Order, and
ends at the end of a specified day, being no later than 31 days after the
start of the period.[3]
(5) Despite Article 17 of the Interpretation (Jersey) Law 1954, a provision specifying the
end of a period under paragraph (4) may not be amended other than –
(a) to declare an earlier
end; or
(b) to declare a later end,
being no later than 31 days after the commencement of each Order making
such an amendment.[4]
3 Provisions that may be included in restriction Order
(1) A restriction Order may include provision
to –
(a) prohibit all workplaces
or any specified workplace or class of workplace from being open;
(b) allow all workplaces to
be open, or any specified workplace or class of workplace (by category, area or
other characteristic, including the manner of its operation) to be open
only –
(i) for any specified purpose, or
(ii) subject to any specified
condition.[5]
(1A) A restriction Order may
include a provision (a “mask requirement”) that a person must wear a mask
covering the person’s mouth and nose while in a specified workplace during a
restriction period.[6]
(1B) A mask
requirement –
(a) must specify the
workplaces, or classes of workplace in which it applies;
(b) does not apply
to –
(i) a child under the age of 12, or
(ii) a person who is in
the workplace for the purpose of carrying out work, within the meaning of
Article 1(2) of the Health and Safety Law;
(c) must include an
exemption related to the person’s health or disability;
(d) may include an
exemption for any other description of person or circumstance;
(e) may include a
requirement as to the standard to be met by a mask, being a standard that
appears reasonable to the Minister for limiting the risk of spread of infection
by breath;
(f) may include a
requirement as to the manner in which a mask must be worn.[7]
(2) Workplaces,
or a class of workplace, may be specified for the purpose of paragraph (1) or
(1B)(a) by reference to any or any combination of the following factors –
(a) any description of
workplace;
(b) physical, structural,
spatial or other characteristics of workplaces;
(c) the location of the
workplace;
(d) the numbers of people in
the workplace;
(e) the characteristics of
any person who may enter the workplace;
(f) the hours of operation
of the workplace;
(g) the types of work carried
on at the workplace.[8]
(3) A restriction Order may specify the
conditions that a workplace must meet in order to be open based on –
(a) any of the factors
mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) to (g);
(aa) any requirement on the
occupier or operator of the workplace to do or refrain from doing any action,
or to require any other person present at the workplace to do or refrain from
doing any action;
(ab) taking any other action that may assist in controlling the spread
of Covid-19 in the workplace; and
(b) any other factor that the
Minister considers necessary in the interests of public health.[9]
(4) The action that may be required to be taken
in compliance with a condition specified under paragraph (3) includes the
collection of relevant personal data, from any person present at the workplace,
for the purpose of assisting in suppressing the spread of Covid‑19.[10]
(5) If a person who has entered or wishes to
enter any workplace refuses to comply with any requirement imposed under these
Regulations by an occupier or operator of the workplace to do or refrain from
doing any action, the occupier or operator must require the person to leave the
workplace or refuse the person entry to the workplace as the case may be.[11]
(6) If a person refuses to leave a workplace
when requested to do so under paragraph (5), a police officer must, if so
requested by the occupier or operator, eject the person from the workplace,
using reasonable force if necessary.[12]
(7) For the purposes of paragraph (4) a
condition in a restriction Order may do any of the following –
(a) limit the workplaces to
which and the circumstances in which the condition applies;
(b) specify the relevant
personal data that may be collected and how it may be used;
(c) specify how and for what period
that data must be retained.[13]
(8) Nothing in this Regulation limits any of
the following –
(a) the application of Article 11(4)
of the Interpretation (Jersey)
Law 1954;
(b) the application of
Article 16 of the Licensing (Jersey) Law 1974;
(c) the processing of any
data by the occupier or operator of the workplace as controller in accordance
with the Data Protection (Jersey)
Law 2018.[14]
4 Enforcement
(1) The following are enforcement officers for
the purpose of these Regulations –
(a) a police officer;
(b) an inspector within the
meaning of Article 12 of the Health and Safety Law;
(c) a health officer within
the meaning of Regulation 1(1) of the Covid‑19
(Screening, Assessment and Isolation) (Jersey) Regulations 2020;
(d) any other person or class
of persons that the Minister may specify by Order.[15]
(2) An enforcement officer may, for the purpose
of ensuring compliance with a restriction Order and subject to the production
by the person, if so required, of evidence of the person’s authority, exercise
the powers set out in paragraph (3).
(3) The powers are –
(a) at any reasonable time to
enter a workplace to assess whether or not there is or has been any
contravention of a restriction Order;
(b) to make the examinations
and investigations that are necessary for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (2);
(c) to take any measurements
and photographs and make any recordings that the enforcement officer considers
necessary for the purpose of an examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (b);
(d) to require the production
of, inspect, and take copies of an entry in a book or document (including any
electronic document) that it is necessary for the enforcement officer to see
for the purposes of an examination or investigation under sub-paragraph (b);
(e) to require any person to
provide the enforcement officer with such facilities and assistance as the
person is able to provide to enable the enforcement officer to exercise any of
the powers conferred by this Regulation;
(f) any other power
necessary for ensuring compliance with a restriction Order.[16]
(4) Nothing in this Regulation allows an
enforcement officer to make an examination or investigation or to disclose or
make use of any information received in the course of such examination or
investigation other than for the purposes of these Regulations or a restriction
Order.
(5) For clarity, an enforcement officer may
view any relevant personal data collected under Regulation 3(4).[17]
(6) An enforcement officer who is not a police
officer may exercise a power under this Regulation for the purpose of
investigating a matter that is the subject of a police inquiry only in
conjunction with a police officer conducting the inquiry.[18]
(7) No person is required under this Regulation
to answer any question or to give any evidence tending to incriminate the person.[19]
(8) Nothing in this Regulation compels the
production by any person of a document of which the person would on grounds of
legal professional privilege be entitled to withhold production on an order for
discovery in any proceedings in the Royal Court.[20]
4A Improvement notices[21]
(1) An enforcement officer may serve an
improvement notice on a person if the enforcement officer believes that the person –
(a) is contravening a
restriction Order; or
(b) has contravened a
restriction Order in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention
will continue or be repeated.
(2) An improvement notice must –
(a) state the reasons for
serving the notice; and
(b) require the person to
remedy the contravention within such period as may be specified in the notice.
4B Prohibition notices[22]
(1) If an enforcement officer believes that
there is a risk of spreading Covid‑19 arising out of activities carried
on in a workplace, the enforcement officer may serve a prohibition notice on
the person carrying on the activities or under whose control the activities are
being or are likely to be carried on.
(2) A prohibition notice served under paragraph (1)
must –
(a) state the reasons for
serving the notice; and
(b) direct that the
activities to which the notice relates must not be carried on unless the
matters specified in the notice that give rise to the risk of spreading
Covid-19 have been remedied.
(3) A direction given under paragraph (2)(b)
takes effect –
(a) at the end of the period
specified in the notice; or
(b) if the notice so declares,
immediately.
4C Provisions supplementary
to Regulations 4A and 4B[23]
(1) A notice may (but need not) include
directions as to the measures to be taken to remedy any contravention or matter
to which the notice relates.
(2) If directions are included in a notice,
they may be framed to give the person on whom the notice is served a choice
between different ways of remedying the contravention or matter.
(3) If an improvement notice, or a prohibition
notice that is not to take immediate effect, has been served –
(a) it may be withdrawn by an
enforcement officer at any time before the end of the period specified in the
notice under Regulation 4A(2)(b) or 4B(3)(a), as the case may be; and
(b) the period so specified
may be extended or further extended by an enforcement officer at any time when
an appeal against the notice is not pending.
4D Review of improvement or
prohibition notice[24]
(1) A person on whom a notice is served may
within 14 days of its service request a review from the Minister.
(2) On a review under this Regulation the
Minister may either cancel or affirm the notice and, if it is affirmed, may do
so either in its original form or with such modification as the Minister may in
the circumstances think fit.
(3) If a review under this Regulation is requested
in relation to a notice within the period allowed under paragraph (1),
then in the case of –
(a) an improvement notice,
the requesting of the review has the effect of suspending the operation of the
notice until the review is concluded or, if the request is withdrawn, until the
withdrawal of the request; or
(b) a prohibition notice, the
requesting of the review has the same effect if, but only if, on the
application of the person requesting the review, the Minister so directs (and
then only from the giving of the direction).
5 Offences
(1) A person commits an offence, and is liable
to a fine, if the person –
(a) contravenes a restriction
Order by –
(i) opening a workplace that is prohibited
from opening,
(ii) opening a workplace
other than for purposes for which it is permitted to be open,
(iii) failing to take
reasonable steps to prevent a person from entering a workplace that is
prohibited from being open, or
(iv) failing to take
reasonable steps to comply with a specified condition;
(b) contravenes any
requirement of an enforcement officer imposed under Regulation 4(3);
(c) contravenes any
requirement or direction imposed by a notice;
(d) intentionally obstructs
an enforcement officer in the exercise or performance of his or her powers or
duties.[25]
(2) A person commits an offence, and is liable
to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale, if the person without reasonable
excuse fails, while in a specified workplace during a restriction period, to
wear a mask covering the person’s mouth and nose in accordance with a mask requirement
imposed on that person under Regulation 3(1A).[26]
(3) A person assessing whether a step is
reasonable, for the purpose of paragraph (1)(a)(iii)
or (iv) or paragraph (4), must have regard to any relevant guidance.[27]
(4) It is a defence for a person to prove that he
or she took reasonable steps to avoid the commission of an offence under this
Regulation or that the offence was due to an act or default of some other person
who committed it without the first person’s consent,
connivance or wilful default.[28]
6 Offences by bodies
corporate and others
(1) In this Regulation –
“relevant offence” means an offence under these Regulations that is
committed by a limited liability partnership, a separate limited partnership,
an incorporated limited partnership or another body corporate;
“relevant person” means –
(a) if the relevant offence
is committed by a limited liability partnership, a partner of the partnership;
(b) if the relevant offence
is committed by a separate limited partnership or an incorporated limited
partnership –
(i) a general partner, or
(ii) a limited partner who is
participating in the management of the partnership;
(c) if the relevant offence
is committed by a body corporate other than an incorporated limited
partnership –
(i) a director, manager, secretary or other
similar officer of the body corporate, and
(ii) if the affairs of the
body corporate are managed by its members, a member who is acting in connection
with the member’s functions of management; and
(d) a person purporting to
act in any capacity described in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) in relation to
the partnership or body that commits the relevant offence.
(2) If a relevant offence is proved to have
been committed with the consent or connivance of a relevant person, that
relevant person is also guilty of the offence and liable in the same manner as
the partnership or body corporate to the penalty provided for that offence.
(3) Paragraph (4) applies if a relevant
offence –
(a) is an offence that may be
committed by neglect; and
(b) is proved to be
attributable to any neglect on the part of a relevant person.
(4) The relevant person is also guilty of the
offence and liable in the same manner as the partnership or body corporate to
the penalty provided for that offence.
7 Limitation of liability
(1) The Minister and any enforcement officer are
not liable in damages for anything done or omitted in the discharge or
purported discharge of any function under, or authorised by or under, these
Regulations unless it is shown that the act or omission was in bad faith.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to
prevent an award of damages made in respect of an act on the ground that the
act was unlawful as a result of Article 7(1) of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000.
8 Repeal
The Covid-19 (Restricted Trading) (Jersey)
Regulations 2020 are repealed on the coming into force of the first
restriction Order.
9 Citation, commencement
and expiry
(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Covid-19
(Workplace Restrictions) (Jersey) Regulations 2020 and come into force on the
day after they are made.
(2) These Regulations expire at the end of 30th
April 2022.[29]