Retail One Pager Sector - Useful Health & Safety Information

Why H&S is important to this sector

Retail is an important and dynamic sector, contributing greatly to the British economy by employing nearly 11% of the working population (some 3 million people) and contributing approximately 6% of GDP. It is a wide ranging and varied sector covering anything from confectionary to construction equipment.

Situation where you might need H&S support

Health and Safety is about sensible, proportionate actions that protect people, not unnecessary bureaucracy. As well as to your own employees, you also have duties towards contractors, customers and members of the public who visit your premises and even others who may be affected by your business such as neighbours and other workpeople.

Actions you may need to take

Ensure you hold Employers Liability Insurance and display the certificate in a public area
Make sure you have someone competent to help you meet your health and safety duties
Decide how you're going to manage health and safety within your business
Decide what could harm people and what precautions you need to take. Typical hazards in retail could include:-
Slips, trips and falls – ensuring the retail area is safe for your staff and customers. Ensure layout is conducive the safe access and egress.
Manual Handling – your staff will need to lift and carry items and these could be quite substantial. Some lifting could be mechanised.
Falls from Height – your staff will need to access stock items from high shelves or racking.
Violence and Aggression – sadly retail staff are customer facing which occasionally means they may be exposed to verbal abuse or in extreme cases actual violence.
Provide health and safety training to your workers
Display the health and safety law poster
Report certain work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences

NatWest Mentor can help you with all of these aspects – be it through auditing your current documents, liaising with and supporting your appointed Competent Person, providing 24/7 advice or providing training.

Result of doing/Not doing something

Health and safety laws in retail will generally be enforced by an enforcement officer from your local council. Enforcement officers are legally empowered to

Visit workplaces without notice
Investigate accidents or complaints and inspect safety, health and welfare aspects of your business
Talk to employees and safety representatives, take photographs and samples
Receive co-operation and answers to questions

If there is a problem, they may issue a formal notice requiring improvements or, where serious danger exists, a notice that prohibits the use of a process or equipment. For the most serious breaches of health and safety law, they may prosecute a firm or an individual (or report to the Procurator Fiscal with a view to prosecution in Scotland).

NatWest Mentor can support you in ensuring you workplace is safe and complies with legislation. By helping you instil a safety culture through providing the correct documentation and working with your staff to get them confident about Risk Assessments, as well as supporting you with a 24/7 advice line, you can be confident you are in the best position to keep your workers safe.