SAFETY AT BEKEM’S
TIER 4
Rules and restrictions during coronavirus
Remember, ‘Hands. Face. Space’:
Hands
Wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds
Face
Wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet
Space
Stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings)
After the Government announced that London will move into Tier 4 from Sunday, 20 December we’ve revised our current safety and hygiene measures and suggest taking further steps to reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level. We must keep our team and customers safe.
Keep a safe distance
Reduce the proximity and duration of contact between people. Make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable is acceptable). Try to stay back-to-back or side-to-side and avoid face-to-face at close proximity. Be strict about it with sales reps, drivers and customers.
Provide and explain available guidance
Make sure people understand what they need to do to maintain safety. Provide written and spoken communication of the latest guidelines to both workers and customers inside and outside the store. Display posters or information setting out how to behave on the premises to keep everyone safe. Staff and customers of retail settings are required to wear a face covering, unless they have an exemption. By law businesses must remind people to wear face coverings where they are required, for instance using signage and/or verbal reminder. Employers must ensure that all staff in retail settings wear face coverings when in areas that are open to the public and where they are likely to come within close contact of a member of the public, unless they have an exemption. Despite our best efforts, this rule is often neglected, therefore, we should launch an additional audio-reminder to enforce the policy and hopefully reduce the psychological pressure on our front of the house team who’ve been restlessly fighting malicious intruders and stubborn scaremongers for months.
Maintain high hygiene standards
Provide clear signage and regular reminders for the team and customers. Further increase the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning. Use normal cleaning products, paying attention to frequently hand touched surfaces. Use disposable cloths or paper roll to clean all hard surfaces. Increase frequency of cleaning equipment between uses (counter, PDQ keypads, baskets, trolley handles, door handles, telephones, personal and corporate electronic devices, pens & stationery – if possible). Have antibacterial wipes at the till, in the kitchen, in the office, in the van. Avoid sharing pens if possible. Add a mini sanitising station by the coffee machine for customers and delivery drivers. Provide additional waste facilities (small rubbish bin at the entrance and by the coffee machine). Use sanitiser or wipes after handling cash (whether you’re wearing gloves or not) before touching the next customer’s shopping.
Monitor the number of people inside the shop
Limiting the number of customers in the store, overall and in any particular congestion areas. The number of customers that can reasonably follow social distancing guidelines within the store is around 10. Switch to ‘1 in 1 out’ when it’s getting crowded to avoid queues building up (do stewarding at the door for a short period of time if needed).
Ensure good ventilation
Keep both the front door and the back door open from 7am to 9pm and shut from 9pm to 7am to have good ventilation at busy times and keep the premises secure at night.
Avoid needing to raise voices
To reduce aerosol transmission risks refrain from singing and shouting. There is an additional risk of infection in environments where you or other people are singing, chanting or talking loudly. You should therefore avoid environments that cause you to raise your voice to communicate with anyone outside of their household. All venues should ensure that steps are taken to avoid people needing to unduly raise their voices to each other. This includes, but is not limited to, refraining from playing loud music or broadcasts that makes normal conversation difficult.
Minimise person-to-person contact with suppliers
Placing orders, processing stock take, exchange of documentation and cash payments must be done in line with guidelines. Always suggest BACS payments to suppliers when possible, try to reduce communication in person with sales reps and drivers.
Maintain your shift patterns
Fixed teams working at fixed hours will help to reduce the number of people each person has contact with. This measure is important in an event of a COVID-19 outbreak in the shop.
Be patient, considerate and honest with co-workers
Take extra care of your vulnerable colleagues and those living with vulnerable individuals. A little kindness goes a long way. Let’s look out for each other. If there are risks which were not covered yet by our currently implemented or additional control measures described here, please designate them. We cannot completely eradicate the risks of COVID-19 yet we must do everything reasonably practicable to minimise them.
What to do if you're unwell
If you have COVID-19 symptoms do not come to work, notify Greg immediately and arrange a test asap.
Workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate for at least 10 days starting from the day the test was taken. Where a worker has tested positive whilst not experiencing symptoms but develop symptoms during the isolation period, they should restart the 10-day isolation period from the day the symptoms developed.
Workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate for at least 10 days starting from the day the test was taken. Where a worker has tested positive whilst not experiencing symptoms but develop symptoms during the isolation period, they should restart the 10-day isolation period from the day the symptoms developed.
COVID-19 TIER 4 Full Guidance
What you can and cannot do in areas with a very rapidly rising level of infections, where tighter restrictions are in place from 20 December.
Useful links
Full guidance for shops
Keeping workers and customers safe during COVID-19 in shops and branches
Cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19
Cleaning in non-healthcare settings outside the home
Guidance for contacts of people with confirmed COVID-19 who do not live with the person
Current guidance for those who have been in contact with, but do not live with, a person who has tested positive for COVID-19
Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19
Current guidance for people who have symptoms and those who live with others who have symptoms