The health and wellbeing of our clients and staff remains our priority and we have implemented measures to minimise and prevent the spread of the virus and become a ‘COVID-secure’ workplace in line with government guidance.
Where possible we are encouraging our clients and contacts to have online meetings with us via any communication method which is suitable. Our client engagement processes have been modified to allow for remote client identification and we support meetings through a variety of channels, including MSTeams, Zoom and Skype.
However, if you need to visit our offices because the use of video conferencing for meetings is not practical, please read the following guidance.
Please do not visit our offices, even if invited, if you are showing any symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, persistent cough, or loss of taste and smell).
Visits by prior appointment only
Most of our staff are working remotely and most matters can be dealt with via telephone, video call or email. Where a face to face meeting is required, it will be by appointment only.
Please do not visit our offices unless you have a pre-arranged appointment.
When arriving at the offices
On arrival ring the bell at the entrance to 27 Greville Street and wait to be invited in.
Please be aware that we will be asking all clients to use the hand sanitiser provided, upon arrival, and there will be no physical contact, such as a handshake. Our reception area is closed and you will be guided straight into a meeting room by a member of our staff.
Please try to arrive on time
Please ensure you arrive at the scheduled time for your appointment. If you arrive early you may be asked to wait outside until the agreed time.
We will endeavour to keep any meeting as short as possible and would encourage you to try to do the same.
Agree who is attending the meeting
Please ensure that when you arrange the appointment that you agree who will be attending with you, to ensure that we can accommodate them. We do not accommodate groups of more than three at a time.
We may not be able to accommodate additional attendees, without prior notice, and they may be asked to wait outside.
Social distancing and wearing a mask
You will need to wear a face-mask at all times when entering our offices and at all times during your visit, unless medically exempt.
Guidance on face covering exemptions is available here.
Please make any medical exemption known to us at the time of making arrangements for a meeting as we will then, for the safety of our staff, need to re-consider the number of meeting attendees we can accommodate.
Taking notes and signing documents
Please bring your own pen to the meeting in case you need to take notes or sign documents. We can provide pens but please take them home with you following the meeting.
Refreshments
To reduce risk, there will be no refreshments available for you during your meeting such as hot and cold drinks. If you require refreshments whilst in your meeting then please bring your own.
Feeling unwell
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
To protect others, do not visit our offices and cancel your pre-arranged meeting if you display any of these symptoms or have been in contact with someone displaying these symptoms.
Get a test to check if you have coronavirus and stay at home until you get your result.
Further Guidance
If you are unsure of any of the above, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to discuss these with the solicitor dealing with your matter. We will be more than happy to help.
We thank you for your co-operation.
5 October 2020