Retail sector guidance – Revised

Guidance for the retail sector, including close contact services such as hairdressers and barbers, which covers procedures for staff and customer safety and an operations checklist.

This guidance is for the retail sector in Scotland. It came into effect immediately – from 26 May 2020 – and extends until further notice. It will be reviewed in line with the regular three weekly review of lockdown requirements.

The guidance sets out the Scottish Government’s expectations on the steps retail businesses will take before and after reopening. It does not constitute legal advice, and businesses may wish to seek their own advice to ensure compliance with all legal duties. We have worked with employers and trade unions  to ensure that this guidance is evidence-based, fair and ethical, clear and realistic. As each workplace is different it is for individual businesses to work with trade unions or workforce representatives selected by employees to determine how best to apply this guidance in their circumstances.

This document is one of a set of documents about how to work safely in different types of workplace. It is designed to be relevant for people who work in or run shops, branches, stores or similar environments. It should be applied at the local level. Each business will need to translate this into the specific actions it needs to take depending on the nature of their business (i.e. the size and type of business, how it is organised, operated, managed and regulated) using this document as a guide. It has been designed to be applied to cover the spectrum of different retailers in Scotland from department stores to independent traders. See the operational guide for retailers section which has a downloadable checklist for retailers with actions to consider.

There are now posters available to print off to encourage the use of mandatory face coverings and health and safety messaging in the supporting files link above. Retailers are encouraged to display these posters, or posters with their own branding in their premises.

Change Log :-

  1. Replaced close contact section with revised text and replaced close contact checklist.
  2. Added revised retail posters for Phase 3 in A3 and A4 format.

Full details here