Re-opening Your Business

Business owners will now have a big responsibility to ensure they comply with the government guidance in order to help control the virus and ensure the country does not slip back into lockdown. It is important to remember that Covid-19 will not be the only risk to consider when you re-open.

Planning and management will be key to ensuring that the risks associated with re-starting your business are minimised as much as possible, failure to do so can leave your business open to legal action from injuries to employees or third parties or damage to your stock, equipment or buildings. A key condition of most insurance policies is that the business owner takes reasonable steps to prevent claims being made – if you fall foul of this condition, you may see claims refused.

So what can you do to minimise your risks? This obviously depends on your specific type of business but things to consider are;

• Has your machinery or equipment been maintained to your usual standards? – missed inspections or maintenance could lead to injuries, fires or explosions
• Have you had to change your production processes due to shortages of the materials you usually use or changes to the products you make? If so, have you completed a risk assessment?
• Do you have contingencies in place to allow continuity of business in the event a key supplier cannot fulfil orders?
• Have your stock levels changed? Are your storage arrangements adequate and safe? You may also need to alter your insurance cover accordingly.
• Have the changes you have made in relation to being Covid safe had a detrimental impact on other safety precautions, think about spaces you may now be using that you did not use before – has this introduced any new hazards?
•  If you have alcohol based hand sanitiser, are they stored safely and away from any sources of ignition?  Are your staff fully trained in the new processes you have adopted (including changes to fire safety)?
• Have your online sales increased? Is your IT security adequate for the increased online financial transactions and do you have cyber cover included in your insurance policy in case you are the subject of a cyber attack?
• Make sure you keep up to date with government guidance on being Covid safe at work. You can visit www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19 for further information.

You will likely need to consider other aspects that are not discussed here that are specific to your business so take the time to review all your risk management and health a safety procedures to check how your business may be affected and what changes you need to make.