Covid-19 Policy
LATEST UPDATE 01/06/2020
All registrars have now closed their doors for face to face appointments with the public. All deaths are now registered over the telephone and if the family is unable to register their loved ones death on the phone then they can appoint their funeral director to do this for them.
Please speak to your funeral director for more information.
We have made the decision to not look after cash or cheque forms of donations for our families, but we are able to help you set up an online donation memorial on JustGiving instead.
Certain crematoriums are not able to accommodate the live streams or web casts anymore due to the huge demand placed on the service. Please speak to your funeral director about each crematorium’s policies.
Until we receive any further guidelines from the Government and our governing bodies, mourners are still limited to numbers determined by each crematorium.
LATEST UPDATE 20/03/2020
We just wanted to inform all of our families that we are no longer able to meet face to face for funeral arrangements. It is also the same for families liaising with celebrants and ministers, so please can we politely ask you not to come to the office without prior arrangement.
Guidelines and policies are being updated day by day and we are working together as a team to be responsible to the public and to the team we work with.
We are still carrying out funerals but in a different way, from now we will not meet with families to go through the funeral arrangements, we will have contact over the phone and email.
Registration procedures are changing due to the fact that next of kin are having to self-isolate, when we know more we can share this information with you.
Certain ‘at risk’ ministers, retired clergy have made the decision not to put themselves at risk, we thank them for everything that they have done for us.
Chapel of Rest visits are currently taking place following government guidelines of social distancing and hand hygiene, but they are limited to one or two people at a time and we have alcohol hand rubs and tissues in all rooms.
We are still providing order of service sheets or printed hymn sheets as the crematoriums and churches (that are still holding a service prior to burial or cremation) are no longer having items such as hymn books in the chapels.
We are still collating donations in memory of our loved ones with staff taking extra care when handling the money. We may move away from this in days to come and use sites such as ‘just giving’ which our funeral directors are more than happy to help families set up.
We are no longer providing limousines, for the safety of families and our staff. Alternative methods of transport must be used. For example, families using their own transport to follow the hearse to the cemetery.
We can look after funerals with no families present when families are facing extreme circumstances.
We have made the decision to not hand out mourner’s attendance cards which is a service we liked to give our families to have a recording of who attended on the day.
Webcams, audio and visual recordings are available at certain crematorium chapels, although with high demand they may be limited. We also have contact details for a local company who will film the service on your behalf.
Ministers and celebrants are offering their service for your loved one to be posted or emailed to families who could not attend.
Please contact the office via email or telephone if you have any further questions and a member of our team will help you.
Thank you for your co-operation at this difficult time
GENERAL POLICY IN ACCORDANCE WITH COVD-19
We wanted to advise our families that as a company we are working together to create a responsible environment and have reviewed our standard policies for working in a hygienic workplace and the health of our staff and families who visit our premises is our most important consideration.
- Surface areas on the premises and in our vehicles, door and car handles, card machines, phones, electric screens and our brochures are cleaned regularly with sanitizer.
- We have placed notices up to remind everyone of the importance of handwashing and sanitizing.
- Sanitizers and hand tissues will be available throughout the premises for everyone’s use.
- Anti-bacterial soaps are available in every bathroom.
- Our bathrooms are regularly sanitized.
We have a social responsibility to you and our teams therefore –
- Please advise a member of the team if you should have a temperature over 37.8 degrees or you are showing signs of Covid-19. A lot of our funeral arrangements can be done over email and the telephone therefore avoiding unnecessary risk of contamination.
- The same applies to if you are or have been in close contact with someone displaying signs or has Covid-19.
- Please also wash your hands and make use of the sanitizers available on entering our premises.
Jonathan Alcock & Sons and George Hill Funeral Directors are an independent family run business who want to keep serving our fantastic community at your greatest time of need. Please let us work together to keep everyone safe.
We are working closely with our governing bodies the NAFD and SAIF who are issuing and updating us with the most current advice, guidelines and policies.
If you have any questions or further concerns then please email sarah@jasfunerals.co.uk or call Sarah on 0161 428 2097.
Sarah Parker
Director