Is Asda implementing a “no kids” policy in stores? Fact Check

A message spreading online claims that supermarket Asda is starting a “no kids” policy starting “tomorrow” and that only one member of family member should be allowed in at a time. The post also claims that this is the law.

MOSTLY FALSE

An example of the claim as it appears on social media is below.

Asda update … no kids starting tomorrow and only one family member in at a time …. ITS THE LAW !!!!!!

What’s true?
Some specific supermarket stores may try and discourage multiple adult family members (or older children) from entering stores at the same time in a bid to speed up queue times.

What’s false?
Asda does not have a “no kids” policy, especially for younger children who cannot be left unsupervised. A spokesperson for Asda has told us the message has not come from them. Asda has subsequently dismissed the claims on their social media channels.

The post is certainly a testament to the unofficial rule of thumb that a post’s accuracy is determined by the word-to-exclamation-mark ratio.

The claim is false. Asda has not announced or implemented a policy forbidding children from accessing their supermarkets. The latest steps concerning social distancing and other measures are detailed on Asda’s webpage here and on their corporate website here. While the supermarket does state that they are limiting the number of people who can access the store at any one time, they do not mention anything about prohibiting children from their stores.

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Also, Asda has not announced that this is a policy on any of their press media or social media channels. We reached out to Asda and a spokesperson has told us the viral social media message “hasn’t come from us”.

Additionally, the claim that this is “the law” is also false. The UK government has placed no such restrictions on the number of family members or children entering supermarkets. From the GOV.UK website, the government recommends (though does not enforce) monitoring amount of customers and implementing queue management systems.

Supermarkets
Supermarkets need to avoid crowding and create adequate spacing between individuals.
Effective measures to support this will vary by store and location but could include:
monitoring the number of customers within store and limiting access to avoid congestion
implementing queue management systems to limit crowds gathering at entrances and maintain the 2 metres distance
reminding customers to only buy what they need
Public Health England supports measures to allow safe privileged access to elderly and essential workers such as NHS and Social Care staff.

It is possible that some specific stores, including Asda stores, may discourage multiple adult family members (or older children) from entering the store at one time in a bid to speed up queue times. However there is no policy on prohibiting younger children – especially children that cannot be left unsupervised – a policy that would make it nearly impossible for many single parents to shop for basic necessities.

It is possible that this message could have resulted from a misunderstanding at a particular store, either resulting from a miscommunication between staff members and a customer, or a staff member misunderstanding a store policy.

But what we do know is that Asda has not implemented a no-kid policy, and it is not unlawful for children to enter supermarkets with their parent. This claim is false.

UPDATE:
Asda has released the following statement on their social media channels dismissing the hoax.

You may have seen posts being shared on social media suggesting that families with children won’t be allowed into our stores from tomorrow. This isn’t the case.

Everyone in the UK is being asked by the Government to shop sensibly and only when required. Where needed, we are limiting the total number of shoppers we allow into a store at any one time.

If possible, it would help us greatly if you could bring fewer family members when visiting our stores. This will help us maintain social distancing guidelines we already have in place.