Meeting room and events guidance (Covid-19 ongoing protection)

Guidance for planning a Meeting or Event to ensure ongoing protection from Covid-19.

Despite the lifting of Covid-19 measures, we have an ongoing responsibility to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. This means every member of our school community needs to think carefully about the implications of arranging in-person activities.

This webpage explains how you can balance the benefits of holding your activities in person while making sure you keep people safe.

Please refer to the University Guidance for events document for help and information to assist in your activity planning.  For large events, please refer to the University’s large event guidance.

Events guidance (ed.ac.uk)

Large Event Management – Safe Operating Procedure.docx (sharepoint.com)

Active type

Guidance and requirements vary depending on the type of in-person activity. To remove any uncertainty, the school has set out basic criteria that to differentiate a meeting from an event.

Please use the table below to confirm what activity type you will be planning.

- Meeting Event
Attendee Numbers 2 to 16 people 17 +
Duration Up to 2 hours 2 hours +
Catering Yes* Yes
Unstructured movement (e.g. networking) No Yes
Out of hours access No Yes
Held outside No Yes
Requirement for full risk assessment No, default meeting room risk assessment should be followed Yes

With the exception of catering, where an activity meets any of the criteria for an event, it must be organised as an event, e.g. an activity for four people held outside of hours must be managed as an event.

*Catering for small meetings can be arranged without the need for a full risk assessment provided the following criteria are met:

The meeting organiser stipulates which level of food production is being supplied at the time of booking.

Current accepted methods include - Catering companies or recognised takeaways

The event organiser agrees to ensure:

  • Covid controls are put in place for shared food, such as being kept under a lid/container; served by someone wearing appropriate gloves/clothing; bottles/urns used with available wipe down materials available for use by anyone concerned with surface transfer of Covid-19
  • Foodservice and designated eating areas will be identified and managed appropriately
  • There is access to hand washing facilities or, where hand washing facilities are not easily accessible, hand sanitising facilities are available
  • Suitable waste disposal facilities are available

Meeting organisers will be required to declare that all reasonable efforts to ensure the safety of attendees will be undertaken at the point of room booking confirmation.

 

Considerations when planning an in-person activity

 

Further advice and guidance for organising Events during the pandemic

 

Important: The following only refers to measures and practices to help manage the risk of coronavirus transmission at organised events. Please review the School's existing events policies and guidance in addition to this document.

Events policy | InfWeb (ed.ac.uk)

  • Allow sufficient time to plan appropriately and, if need be, consult with Facilities@inf.ed.ac.uk 
  • Information should be given to participants and staff in advance to remind them that if they are experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19 or are required to quarantine or self-isolate, they must not attend.
  • Inform attendees of the Schools current COVID-19 safety measures in advance.
  • Consider pre-booking as it can assist with managing numbers and provides a simple way to collect contact details although there is no longer a specific requirement to collect contact details for attendees from April 2022

If you have any other questions regarding events, please get in touch with Facilities.

Contact Facilities