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Study highlights impact of rising staff costs for convenience retailers.

3 Apr 2024

Research by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation has shed light on the impact of rising staff costs on the convenience retail sector in Scotland.
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Independent department stores hitting a sweet spot on local high streets.

3 Apr 2024

With large national chains increasingly disappearing from the high street, Drapers magazine has been looking at how independent department stores are stepping up their offerings to... Read more…

Entries open for 2024 Baking Industry Awards

2 Apr 2024

The Baking Industry Awards return for their 37th year and are once again ready to recognise and reward the very best people, products, and businesses in the sector. The awards showcase the... Read more…

Family-owned cycle shop celebrates 90 years trading in Walsall.

2 Apr 2024

Walsall's cycling community has been celebrating a family-owned business which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
 
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Payment-processing outages at UK retailers raise reliability issues for cashless transactions.

2 Apr 2024

Recent payment disruptions at supermarkets and fast-food outlets have raised questions on the need for improved reliability.
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North Yorkshire cycle hub up for top tourism award

22 Mar 2024

Rob Brown, co-director of Dalby Forest Cycle Hub, a not-for-profit hire scheme has been nominated for the Tourism Superstar 2024 award, run by VisitEngland.
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Independent retail bodies welcome new report aimed at tackling retail crime.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime... Read more…

Indie retailers outperformed supermarkets in sales of organic food, wellness and beauty products in 2023.

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with... Read more…

Cheltenham beer shop and bar wins top UK award.

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 
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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to... Read more…

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Coronavirus Testing available for shop workers

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News, Political News

The Government has extended COVID-19 testing to essential workers with symptoms and people who live with essential workers and have symptoms. This includes anyone with symptoms whose work cannot be done from home including shop workers.

Employers can register their staff through a digital employer portal by emailing portalservicedesk@dhsc.gov.uk.

Employees are also able to self-register through a separate employee portal.

The government has confirmed there are two ways that essential workers can obtain COVID-19 tests:

Employer Referral

Employers can use the employer referral portal to refer essential workers who are self-isolating either because they or members(s) of their household have COVID-19 symptoms, for testing.

Employers will be able to upload the full list of names and contact details of self-isolating essential workers.
If referred through this portal, essential workers will receive a text message with a unique invitation code to book a test for themselves (if symptomatic) or their symptomatic household member(s) at a regional testing site.

To obtain a login to the portal, employers should email portalservicedesk@dhsc.gov.uk with two email addresses that will be primarily be used to load essential worker contact details. Once employer details have been verified, two login credentials will be issued for the employer referral portal.

Self-Referral

  • Essential workers who are self-isolating can book a test directly.
  • Two testing processes will be available. These include a regional test site drive-through appointment or a home test kit.
  • The government has developed guidance on the self-referral process here. Essential workers can book a test directly by clicking here. Please note that the self-referral portal currently states that applications are closed.

Please note that this testing process only applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may have they're only processes. We are currently working with devolved administrations so we can communicate the details of their processes to retailers.

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