Introduction
As an organisation, FOTC has a duty of care both to its volunteers and to the general public. We are also obliged to abide by the law. It’s important to realise that the work we do in the cemetery is not the work of individuals but the work of an organisation which is recognised legally and which is also governed by the rules of the owners of the cemetery, i.e. Teignbridge District Council. Breaching that trust risks jeopardising the future of FOTC and, therefore, our long-term goal of restoring the grounds and buildings of the cemetery.
In terms of our policy on COVID we endeavour to keep up with government guidelines as and when they are published and we will inform our volunteers of the status of that via our Facebook page (Friends of Teignmouth Cemetery) and e-mail where possible. Volunteers may obviously contact us or members of the committee at any time for clarification.
In general there are two situations we need to deal with:
- Working under tiered restrictions on or below Tier 3 (‘Low’)
- Working under tiered restrictions 4 or higher – basically lockdown (‘High’)
LOW-LEVEL RESTRICTIONS
These apply when we are allowed as an organisation to carry on with group working out-of-doors. There may be a restriction on the number of people in a group. Most commonly this has been six but it could vary as government guidelines are revised. We keep a register of all participants at a work session. When meeting for group work sessions the following guidelines should be observed:
Attendance
No-one should attend a work session if:
- they have any of the 3 common symptoms of COVID (fever, persistent cough, loss of taste/smell);
- they have tested positive for COVID;
- they have been tested and are awaiting results;
- They have been advised to self-isolate as a result of having been in contact with someone who has or is suspected to have COVID
Social Distancing
This is down to common sense .The advice is to keep to a minimum of 2 metres between people …which we will need to adhere to whilst working within the cemetery … including at refreshment breaks and when getting tools in and out of the shed etc.
Masks
Wearing a mask is entirely up to the individual. A mask is not required when working in open space out-of-doors but obviously a mask will increase the amount of protection
Clean-up
Cleaning up all equipment used after each session is probably not very practical (or effective) for the effort involved because of the nature of the equipment. So volunteers are advised instead to use hand sanitiser before and after each session.
Symptoms – Post Work-Session
Anyone developing COVID symptoms after attending a FOTC work session should let Jean Gitsham know immediately as well as the NHS track and trace scheme. Jean’s number can be provided to the scheme (07532 347345 or 01626 779140) and when they subsequently contact her she will then pass on a list of everyone at the relevant work session.
HIGH-LEVEL RESTRICTIONS
The Organisation
We are not registered in any way as an organisation which could be exempt from the COVID lockdown restrictions. If we were to breach that it would put us at risk as an organisation and potentially liable to unnecessary fines. According to the most recent guidelines:
“Group volunteering isn’t permitted unless it’s part of a permitted support group as set out in the guidance.”
FOTC is not a permitted support group and, therefore, can not continue operating under high-level restrictions.
There are also a number of references in the government guidelines which are of relevance to our situation.
Individual Responsibility
The government guidance is clear: “People in England must stay at home and only go out for essential reasons”. Working in the Cemetery is not an essential reason.
The latest guidelines include the following elaboration on that:
“You must stay at home. The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. You should follow this guidance immediately. This is the law.
Leaving home. You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary. You may leave the home to: shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person; go to work, or; provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home …….
This is the law. The police can take action against you if you leave home without a ‘reasonable excuse’, and issue you with a fine (Fixed Penalty Notice)”
Volunteering
Individuals can leave home to provide voluntary or charitable services. The intent of this is to enable organisations which are providing essential services to other people (usually vulnerable in some way) to continue being able to provide that vital support.
Individuals can also volunteer in green spaces to carry out essential maintenance work subject to wider government guidance on legal gathering limits, social distancing and risk assessment. The key phrase here is “essential maintenance”. Weeding graves in a cemetery would not be deemed essential maintenance. Also the volunteering would have to be through a permitted support group. FOTC is not such a group.
Individual Working
FOTC is a “Friends” organisation so having to impose these restrictions is, unfortunately, a little against the aethos of what we are about.
One of the “reasonable excuses” for an individual leaving home is exercise, subject to the government guidelines on this. So, although FOTC can not hold group sessions during lockdown, we do recognise that people individually may choose to interpret working in the cemetery as taking exercise. That is a personal decision and any such work would fall outside the governance of FOTC.
One of the immediate consequences is that no-one doing such work would be covered under our public liability insurance. It also prohibits the use of power tools because Teignbridge District Council requires people operating power tools in the cemetery to have such insurance. So anyone working individually under the ‘reasonable excuse’ of exercise is doing so completely at their own risk and FOTC can not take any consequent liability.
Teignmouth Old Cemetery 