Is your business on the slide?

Are you an employer? Did you realise it’s your duty to protect your staff from this icy arctic weather that we’re having?

If you employ workers or you’re responsible for the management of any business premises, you need to make sure staff, customers and visitors are all safe, no matter how bad the weather gets.

But we all know how unpredictable the British weather can be – how is anyone supposed to be ready for the tricky conditions?

The answer is simple: be prepared. By taking some simple precautions you can reduce the risks and ensure everyone stays safe.
When the icy blast hits, snow-covered paths and walkways around commercial premises are particular dangers.

So before the weather takes hold, make sure you have plenty of grit, sand or rock salt available, and check if you’ve got enough brooms and shovels, or whether you’ll need specialist equipment such as grit spreaders.

Give someone at your workplace direct responsibility for supervising the gritting and snow clearance, so that they can step in as quickly as possible. Snow is much easier to clear before it becomes compacted, so the quicker it can be cleared the better.

Start by identifying key access routes and areas that would be most affected in severe weather – pedestrian routes to and from buildings, main traffic routes onto and off the premises, employee car parks, and areas where vehicles are unloaded and forklift trucks may be in use.

Decide which areas will be a priority to be cleared first, and most of all, ensure your staff know exactly what plans are in place for gritting and snow clearance, and who is responsible for each part of the process.

Don’t forget to move snow from outside any fire doors and exits too so that they can be opened easily, and clear safe routes away from the exits.

Winter weather doesn’t have to be daunting if you’ve put your plans in place – are you prepared for the worst?

Tony