1.Complete a COVID-19 risk assessment
Share it with all your staff. If you employ five or more members of staff, you are required to write this assessment down. Make sure all staff and customers are kept up to date with how safety measures are being used. See more information and a risk assessment template on the HSE website.
2. Clean more often
Increase how often you clean surfaces, especially those that are being touched a lot (eg door handles, push plates, light switches, tills, counters, card payment devices, basket and trolley handles, wash hand basins and taps etc.). Anti-viral products are marked with BS EN 14476. Ask your staff and your customers to use hand sanitiser (over 60% alcohol) and wash their hands frequently. More on cleaning and in non-healthcare settings on Gov.uk.
3. Make sure everyone is social distancing
- Put up signs, floor stickers or introducing a one way system that your customers can follow.
- Reduce crowding.
- Consider how many people can be in the space while remaining socially distant.
- Place clear instruction on maximum numbers at entrances
- Use floor markings to manage queues inside and outside of premises.
- Consider employing staff to help control entry, manage the queues inside and out, prevent gatherings, advise people on social distancing and prevent queues from affecting other businesses, premises and pedestrians.
- Help staff maintain social distancing.
- Consider barriers to separate staff and customers, introduce back-to-back or side-to-side working; have staff work in the same team each day.
4. Remind your customers and staff to wear face coverings in any indoor space or where required to do so by law.
You are not responsible for enforcing customer face covering law; however, you should take reasonable steps to ensure customers are aware they are required to wear a face covering – such as reminding customers as they enter and by displaying notices. This is important to help mitigate transmission. It is especially important if your customers are likely to be around people they do not normally meet. Some exemptions apply.
By law, staff in retail settings must wear face coverings when in customer facing areas, unless they have an exemption. If a member of staff has an exemption and cannot wear a face covering, you will need to cover this in your Covid-19 risk assessment. You have a duty of care to protect the health and safety of your employees and members of the public. This may require you to put in additional measures to help protect the staff members and customers from exposure to Covid-19 eg changing the area that the staff members work in or their shifts, installing appropriate screens between the member of staff, customers and other staff, putting in measures to ensure appropriate social distancing is maintained, etc.
Please note, visors do not comply with the requirements of the legislation as they do not adequately cover the nose and mouth. See more information about face coverings on Gov.uk.
5. Consider ventilation
Open doors and windows, where possible, to allow for better ventilation.
6. Take part in NHS Test and Trace
Betting shops are legally required to keep a record of all customers, visitors and staff for 21 days. Other retail businesses should keep a record of all staff and contractors (not customers) for 21 days. Venues in hospitality, the tourism and leisure industry, close contact services, community centres and village halls must display an official NHS QR code poster so that customers can ‘check in’ using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details. Information needs to be kept for 21 days if manually recorded. See more on maintaining records on Gov.uk.
7. Turn people with coronavirus symptoms away
If a staff member (or someone in their household) or a customer has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell, they should be isolating. Employers must not require someone who is being required to self-isolate to come to work. Any employer asking an employee to break self-isolation to work is committing an offence. See information on coronavirus symptoms and booking a test on Gov.uk.
8. Consider the mental health and wellbeing for yourself and others
The Government has published guidance on mental health and wellbeing aspects of coronavirus.
