Government guidance on NHS Test and Trace

Who the guidance applies to

The guidance applies to hospitality businesses, including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés. Importantly, the guidance does not apply to takeaway-only businesses. Where businesses offer a mix of sit-in and takeaway service, contact details must only be collected for customers who are dining in.

Collecting information

The following details should be collected:

Staff:

• Name
• Contact phone number
• Dates and times present at work

Customers:

• Name of ‘lead member’ of group and number of people in group
• Contact phone number of ‘lead member’ of group
• Date of visit, arrival and departure times
• If they interact with a single staff member, the name of the assigned staff member 

Although businesses should encourage customers to provide these details, they will be shared by customers on a voluntary basis. You should inform customers that you are collecting this information to support NHS Test and Trace, and it will only be used where necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This can be done through signage, or through a notice on your website. Customers can choose to opt out, and if they do you should not share their booking information with NHS Test and Trace. The data should be held for 21 days, and should be securely destroyed after this time period has elapsed.

Interacting with NHS Test and Trace

NHS Test and Trace will ask for these records only where it is necessary, either because someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 has listed the premises as a place they visited recently, or because the premises have been identified as the location of a potential local outbreak of COVID-19. NHS Test and Trace will work with businesses to ensure that the information is shared in a safe and secure way.

If you receive a request for information from NHS Test and Trace your business does not necessarily have to close. NHS Test and Trace will advise you as to the public health measures that are required. These could include arranging for people to be tested, asking them to take extra care with social distancing, or in some cases asking them to self-isolate. NHS Test and Trace will provide you with necessary support and guidance throughout the process.

Preventing fraud 

If you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace, contact tracers will:

• call you from 0300 013 5000
• send you text messages from ‘NHStracing’
• ask you to sign into the NHS Test and Trace contact-tracing website

Any person contacting you by any other means and claiming to be from NHS Test and Trace could be contacting you fraudulently.

To view the new guidleines please click here