Black Friday is the fourth Friday of November (this year falling on the 24th). Whilst it started as an American tradition, following Thanksgiving, it has grown in popularity in the UK over the last few years, marking the start of the busy Christmas shopping period. It has stretched in to a four-day event called Cyber Weekend, now entailing Black Friday through to Cyber Monday.
In 2023 over half of shoppers in the UK said they were planning to buy Christmas gifts for loved ones during this sale period. Last year, the leading categories for purchases over the Black Friday weekend were electricals, clothing and footwear, and toys.
Whilst it is great for the UK economy, we have to bear in mind the added pressures to the retail and hospitality industries. Employees are likely to be working longer hours, warehouse operatives will be lifting and moving more stock, delivery drivers will be making more deliveries.
Planning for the festive period is essential and risk assessments should consider these added pressures to businesses to remove or mitigate any potential hazard.
Keeping your employees and customers safe
Last year this festive shopping frenzy caused various accidents and injuries to shoppers and staff. A disabled shopper experienced minor injuries when a TV set fell on top of her; a security guard was punched by a customer; and a major shopping outlet in Oxfordshire had to temporarily close because the roads in and around it became gridlocked.
Slips and trips are one of the biggest causes of accidents in the workplace. The Christmas rush, coupled with the increase in wet weather, can heighten the likelihood of slips and trips occurring during this period. When assessing the risks to employees and customers your aim is to remove or reduce this risk. This might include:
- Keeping walkways clear of displays or excess stock.
- Mopping up any wet areas as soon as possible.
- Putting out signage to indicate an area is slippery.
Ho-ho-hospitality pressures
Bars and restaurants will also experience surges in patronage in the run up to Christmas with office parties, shoppers seeking refreshments and groups of friends getting together to celebrate.
Whether your business produces, distributes or sells products for consumption, as you’ll know you have a legal duty to keep the best hygiene practices, following food safety regulations.
With more customers to accommodate you may have an increase in seasonal staff, who are not necessarily used to working around food. All training and risk assessments should reflect this, to keep your staff and customers safe.
Commercial kitchens are likely to have an increase in oil and fat residue in extraction systems which poses an increased fire risk. Factoring in additional cleaning and maintenance may be one way of reducing this risk.
Temperatures within the kitchens are also likely to rise due to the increase in food being produced. Whilst the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) doesn’t stipulate a maximum working temperature in this scenario, it would be best practice to keep workers comfortable to ensure best rates of productivity. Adequate ventilation should therefore be assessed and considered in any risk assessment.
How can we help?
We’re experts in making sure your business is fully prepared when it comes to health and safety, so get in contact today for peace of mind this festive period.