The safety and well being of every retailers’ staff and customers is a top priority. Retailers welcome continued government support and clarification to assist in managing their work forces.

Since the UK Government published its Covid-19 recovery plan on 11 May and updated its Guidance on Working safely during coronavirus on 25^th June, all non-essential retail premises are now permitted to reopen.  Restaurants, pubs, hairdressers, outdoor gyms, and other venues have also reopened, leaving a small number of services and types of business including gyms still closed. 

Accompanying the original recovery plan was a suite of guidance for different business settings with specific guides for shops and branches, vehicles and factories, plants and warehouses.  These are regularly updated.  Guidance has also been produced to assist safe working in offices.  

To a large extent, the updated guidance is consistent with the BRC guidance published below, we have also produced an FAQ to assist with questions as they arise.   

The FAQ has been revised to acknowledge the change in social distancing rules and the compulsory wearing of face coverings by customers in shops and supermarkets due to come into effect from 24th July.

To assist our members and interested parties the BRC has worked with its members and external stakeholders to produce recommendations that will assist retailers to facilitate the introduction of social distancing.  These recommendations cover two areas:

WAREHOUSE AND DISTRIBUTION SETTINGS 

Fundamental to the provision of online retail and support to open stores are  the colleagues working in warehouses, distribution areas , and logistics and supply chains.

 
RE-OPENING OF OTHER RETAIL PREMISES 

To assist businesses in reopening, BRC has worked with USDAW to agree on practical recommendations for businesses to consider.  

The documents below outline measures to facilitate the implementation of Government advice on retail premises to ensure the safety of our staff and customers.  Over and above these specific measures there should be an open dialogue with colleagues to reassure them and discuss any concerns about the safety of their role.    

This guidance has been prepared by the BRC based on input from across the membership. It will be regularly updated, so if you have any proposed enhancements or further input, please email Elizabeth.Andoh-Kesson@brc.org.uk. 
 
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have arranged regular conference calls with our members to gather frequently asked questions so our FAQs document supplements the guidance.