After two successive years of disruption, UK retailers are crossing their fingers for a prosperous Christmas. With the Black Friday weekend almost here, many will be hoping for strong sales to kick off the festive period.
Despite the cost of living crisis, Black Friday predictions remain optimistic. Total spending is expected to reach almost £4 billion, with 39% of Brits planning to buy something over the weekend.
This may be great news for your business, but it does create some health and safety challenges if you are a bricks and mortar retailer. The combination of busy stores, frantic customers and winter weather can be a recipe for danger, so it’s important to plan ahead. Here’s our guide to the five biggest Black Friday risks, and what you can do to keep everyone safe.
1. Slips, trips and falls
Black Friday coincides with the onset of winter, so you need to be aware of slipping hazards.
Whenever freezing temperatures are forecast, it’s important to grit any outdoor pathways and steps around your store. Now is also a good opportunity to ensure that there is sufficient lighting around entrances and exits, especially if you are opening late.
More customers on a Black Friday rush also means more dirt being tracked into your store. Regular cleaning is important, but be careful not to do this in a way that creates additional danger.
This could include spot cleaning whenever possible to avoid mopping. If you do need to mop, you could use a dry mop after cleaning so that floors are not left wet. Where you will have a wet floor, always put up wet floor signs during and after cleaning, and consider erecting barriers to stop people treading on the slippery surface.
2. Manual handling
Stores can expect frequent stock deliveries over the Black Friday weekend, and this could mean a lot of heavy lifting for employees. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 make it your duty to reduce the risk of injury from manual handling as much as possible. You can do this in several ways:
- Carry out a manual handling risk assessment that identifies every task with the potential to cause injury
- Automate heavy lifting tasks wherever possible
- Set a weight limit for manual handling and make sure that employees stick to it
- Offer training on correct posture and safe lifting techniques
- Be aware of customers trying to reach products from high shelves or carrying heavy purchases, and have solutions in place to help them.
3. Workplace transport
More deliveries may also mean more heavy vehicles on or around your site. This can pose a danger to both employees and customers, so it’s important to keep safety in mind.
Good practices to consider include: creating segregated routes for vehicles and pedestrians; limiting the speed of vehicles around your site using signs and other traffic management systems; ensuring that all driving surfaces are fit for purpose, especially during cold weather; and providing generous time slots for deliveries so that drivers don’t have to rush
4. Violence
Sadly, with more customers comes an increased risk of violent behaviour. Store managers need to take a two-pronged approach to this problem, reducing the risk of violence, and dealing with violent incidents promptly:
- Put up signs stating that violence and abuse against employees will not be tolerated.
- Place CCTV cameras in visible locations to act as a deterrent.
- Make it clear to employees that you do not expect them to confront shoplifters.
- Consider hiring extra security during November and December.
- Allow employees to keep their phones with them on the shop floor and encourage them to call the police if a violent incident occurs.
5. Crowd control
As well as creating a possible flash point for aggression, overcrowding can also increase the risk of accidental injury. This is another area where careful planning could make a big difference.
Consider identifying the parts of your store where overcrowding is most likely to occur and think about assigning extra staff to these areas. Another option is to put a clearly marked queuing system in place with a member of staff overseeing it.
Amidst the rush of Black Friday, keep an eye out for obstacles that are narrowing aisles creating choke points. Make sure these are removed as the day unfolds. Also, don’t forget to monitor the number of customers in your store ensuring that you don’t exceed maximum capacity.
Further help
Increasing footfall shouldn’t mean sacrificing safety. For more advice on dealing with your Christmas rush, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
