Please read a letter sent by me in response to my ASDA marshal enquiry. Feel free to use it if you want to.
Kyle
Thank you for your email and instructions on how to wear a face mask etc. However, your description of a suitable covering is actually wrong. The guidelines require a three layer mask. I CAN argue that most of these masks do not filter the Covid virus, as stated by the manufacturers of the masks themselves and so the obvious question is 'so why wear a mask that does nothing to filter the virus...." ? its completely pointless, which is why the requirements are only guidelines and not law.
Further, bandannas, scarves, handkerchief's etc are NOT triple layer and offer NO protection at all. This very quickly begins to look more like a control mechanism than it does a safety requirement.
Kyle, You then produce the same exemptions that apply to everyone else in the country, so again the question is, why do you need Covid Marshals in your store? This again smacks of control and not safety of any kind. I now take this opportunity to remind you of some other laws that you may not be quite familiar with:
1. The 2005 UNESCO (bioethics Human rights) statement, that forms the basis of the UK human rights laws, that CANNOT be removed by the UK government, despite all their claims. This human rights statement is required to be integrated into the laws of member states, of which UK is a full member and cannot be removed without leaving the United Nations/UNESCO community. As yet the UK is not planning such a move. Article 6 is most interesting and deals with consent. You might want to look it up. 2. The 2010 Equalities Act - This basically protects anyone who is being treated differently than the general population based on their condition. In the case of Asda Marshals, this is particularly apt. The act does not allow somebody to question why you may not be wearing a mask (myself included, I cannot wear a face covering of any type). The individual has no obligations to disclose their reasons IIf another person questions or forces an individual to disclose their disability or reasons why a mask is not being worn, that individual is liable to prosecution under this act and could personally face a fine of up to £9000 (Nine thousand pounds), along with any other person who supports the actions (managers etc). A Marshal directing a person to buy a mask when they are not required to wear one, you now enter the realms of breaching the UK / UNESCO Human rights act. Therefore, the point of the Marshal being there in the first place is what? They cannot question, enforce or sell ANYTHING to a person simply because they are not wearing a mask. Kyle I am pleased to see that ASDA/Walmart are able to alienate a particular group of customers and possibly risk prosecution from the actions of staff that have no real job or function to perform. Quite clearly, this is a control mechanism and not a safety issue and ASDA are being used to enforce the wishes of the government because the laws DO NOT exist and will not exist to enforce this for themselves. You have already lost lots of customers because of this ludicrous ruling. I am glad that you can afford to lose even more. Regards Steve Habberley