Supermarkets take stance on mask wearing but some store staff say it will be hard to enforce

While supermarkets at national level say they are taking a strong stance on shoppers wearing face-masks in stores and even banning entry to those that don't, one worker at a Leeds Tesco Express said they were doing their best but it was "difficult".

It comes as Tesco, Asda and Waitrose are the latest supermarkets to take a tougher stance on customers who refuse to wear a face covering without a medical exemption, and they all urged shoppers to be respectful towards staff.

They join Morrisons which announced it would enforce the wearing of masks for customers unless they are medically exempt, while Sainsbury's said its security staff at entrances will "challenge" shoppers who are not wearing face coverings or who enter stores in groups.

The staff member at Tesco Express said: "It is hit and miss in our store. We are hoping our policies make it stricter but it is having the manpower to do it on a smaller site. In a large supermarket it is certainly easier but in smaller stores it is difficult but we are doing our best."

Another supermarket worker in the city said it is "annoying" that staff are required to follow the rules, but cannot enforce them with the public.

"Most come shopping with two or three members of the household, many without masks, and I've even had some customers come in recently to say they don't need shopping and have just come out for a chat.

"My particular store seems to be more focused on staff abiding by the rules, whereas customers can essentially do what they like. I've had a fair few complaints from other customers saying 'He or she isn't wearing a mask' but all we can do is say 'Sorry, we're not allowed to enforce it'.

Meanwhile, Asda, which has its head office in Leeds told the Yorkshire Evening Post that colleagues were trained to "deal with incidents" but "as a last resort we will call the police if the situation escalates.’’

A spokesperson said: "Throughout the pandemic our top priority has been the safety of our customers and colleagues and we have stuck close to the government’s guidance on how to manage our stores over the last 12 months. Wearing a face covering is mandatory in supermarkets for those who are not exempt and we have been strongly encouraging our customers to wear them since they became mandatory in July last year.’’

They added that this also applies to staff so those who are not exempt must wear a face covering and staff who are exempt will be identifiable by a badge.’

The tougher stance by supermarket chains followed comments by the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, earlier this week. He had said: "I am worried about supermarkets and people actually wearing masks and following the one-way system and making sure when it's at capacity they wait outside the supermarket."

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