Working on Black Friday: Safety Risks

There is a huge rise in online and in-store shopping around the time of Black Friday. It also kicks off the Christmas shopping season as many people try to take advantage of the best deals.

Companies are frantically working in the background, trying to meet the heightened demand for products and services. An increase in staff recruitment is common at this time of year and indirectly, workplace accidents increase too.

How does working on Black Friday affect your health? How do you deal with this peak in sales from behind the scenes? How can you make working on Black Friday safe?

Temporary employment

Work contracts to support Black Friday are usually temporary and of short duration. Even though Black Friday happens at the same time every year, it’s not always planned in the right way.

Sometimes companies hire young, inexperienced staff, who don’t have a lot of health and safety knowledge and fear they will not be rehired.

It’s important to pay close attention to these working conditions because they can lead to a greater likelihood of accidents at work.

Health and safety training

Any new Black Friday staff must receive adequate training and information about the risks of their position and the workplace.

Health and safety information and emergency measures must be communicated to reduce the probability of work-related accidents occurring and to prepare workers for any unforeseen events that could happen.

Recruits must be trained to safely handle machinery or work equipment (such as forklift trucks or pallet trucks). The risks in a logistics centre or warehouse increase as the volume of work increases.

Safety training is often carried out too "quickly" or not at all.

Having the right equipment

Work equipment is any type of machine, appliance, tool or installation used at work.

One example of work equipment is pallet trucks, which are widely used in retail and logistics centres for transporting goods.

Planning the necessary equipment for Black Friday is essential, this includes deciding what is needed, who has the knowledge and can operate it and if any additional equipment is required.

Personal protective equipment is also critical. People working in retail and logistic warehouse environments need to be protected with PPE, even if they are hired temporarily.

The type of protection required usually consists of safety footwear , hi-vis vests , and gloves In addition to having the correct PPE. Workers must also know how to use it.

Stress at work

Temporary work can have adverse effects on mental health. Factors like job quality, unemployment or economic instability influence health and, ultimately, a person's performance at work.

Being under stress can also make us more likely to conduct unsafe behaviour.

Furthermore, for the employees that work in the retail sector all year round, working on Black Friday becomes a major stress factor due to the higher work demands that they need to cope with.

A constant cause of stress, which only increases on busy shopping days is the customers themselves: customers rush around to get the best prices and this can even lead to violence and conflict.

How can you make working on Black Friday safe?

Always remember that whether permanent or temporary, the same workplace hazards and risks exist. This means the same training and protection must be provided.

Recruitment must always be planned with enough time to provide staff with the necessary health and safety training that they need. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires companies to train and inform their workers about workplace risks.

Each person should also use personal protective equipment when required, this can positively influence a person’s performance, as they feel protected by the organisation.

Planning for Black Friday to key to ensuring safety and provisions should be made to make it as stress-free as possible .

Safeguru | Delivering a Safer Future