Health and safety isn’t always a top concern for retailers. It’s not because retailers don’t care about the health and safety of their employees and customers, but if nothing ever goes wrong, then it’s only natural for a retailer not to worry about it. It’s only when something does go wrong that health and safety becomes a priority — and by then, it’s too late.

Why don’t all retailers maintain high health and safety standards? For the usual reasons: We’re busy. We have to put sales first. We’re just a two-person operation (or three, or four, or 10). Nobody has ever been hurt in our store, so it’s unlikely anyone will ever get hurt. These reasons fade into irrelevance when the unexpected happens and somebody does get hurt. So how can a retailer take health and safety seriously before an accident forces him or her to take it seriously?

This Retailer’s Guide aims to identify potential hazards in your store and offers tips on how you can make your store safer for every person in your store.

In this guide, you'll learn about:

• Outside the store
• Inside the store
• The back room
• When incidents happen
• Preventing employee injuries
• A safe and healthy business