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Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

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Government releases Workplace Safety Guidance: can you continue to enforce mask wearing?

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News, Political News

Theface masks Government has now published the revised Workplace Safety Guidance as England moves to Step 4 of the covid-19 roadmap on 19th July. As outlined in previous updates, legal requirements to wear face coverings, engage in social distancing and limit contact have been removed. Instead people will be asked to make informed decisions and act carefully and proportionately, to manage the risks to themselves and others

The new Workplace Safety Guidance for Shops, Branches and Close Contact Services encourage business to undertake six priority actions:

  • Complete a health and safety risk assessment for stores
  • Provide adequate ventilation
  • Clean surfaces more often
  • Turn away customers or colleagues that have covid-19 symptoms
  • Enable people to check in using a Test and Trace QR code
  • Communicate your procedures to colleagues and customers

The guidance states that face coverings are no longer required by law but states that government expects and recommends that people continue to wear a face covering in crowed, enclosed spaces. On risk assessments the guidance outlines that employers have a legal requirement to carry out risk assessments and that Covid-19 is a workplace hazard that should be addressed in assessments. Interactive tools from the Health and Safety Executive ae available here to help you develop a risk assessment.

The guidance also places greater emphasis on the important of good ventilation, either through natural ventilation or mechanical ventilation such as fans or ducts. Its recommended that poor areas of ventilation are identified in risk assessments and options considered to increase air flow. The HSE have developed guidance on ventilation here.

Please note that the workplace safety guidance applies to England only. There are different regulations and guidance in place for Scotland and Wales.

 

Can you continue to enforce mask wearing? 

Businesses who want to enforce mask-wearing in future will face a number of competing responsibilities and duties:

  • Under the Equality Act 2010 they will have a duty not to discriminate against anyone wishing to use their services
  • However, they will also owe duties to their own employees and other customers including:
    - Duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to conduct their businesses in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their workers and customers
    - Potentially duties to make reasonable adjustments for vulnerable disabled employees or customers who may remain at higher risk from COVID-19.
The key step that businesses can take if they do want to continue with a mask wearing policy is therefore to think about their justification defence in advance. That will mean considering and clearly documenting the legitimate aim they wish to rely on and considering the proportionality of their approach. Key points to consider may be:
  • Obtaining scientific evidence on the level of risk posed by your business
  • Engaging with unions
  • An updated risk assessment of their premises, including infection control risks - for example a business with poor ventilation might be viewed differently to one with a state of the art ventilation system
  • Gauging/surveying customer opinion - if the majority of customers support a mask-wearing policy that should help show it is proportionate
  • Considering what exemptions will be allowed and how they will be applied
  • Staff training
  • Ensuring they know and understand their service users and employees - businesses with known vulnerable employees or service users may be in a stronger position to enforce the use of masks.

Overall, having a well thought out policy and ensuring consistency of treatment will be key to reducing the risk of claims.

 

Display in-store guidance

For ACT resources to display in-store regarding face coverings, social distancing and hand sanitising visit our website here.

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