A limit on the number of customers allowed in a store at any one time and no-contact returns are just some of the measures being considered by the government ahead of any non-essential store reopenings.
Retail workers will also be encouraged to communicate via radio rather than face to face and will be advised to stagger times for click-and-collect services when non-essential retail businesses are allowed to open stores, according to documents drawn up by the government.
Retailers may be asked to define, store by store, the number of customers that can safely follow two-metre social distancing limits, create so-called “social distancing champions” to monitor those guidelines and be able to process cashless refunds as part of the government’s plans to revamp the retail sector and the wider economy, according to Buzzfeed.
Shopping centre operators will also face stringent measures to minimise social contact by limiting customer numbers and keeping food and beverage operators closed for the foreseeable future.
Businesses across the UK that employ more than five people may also be tasked with producing written risk assessments of working conditions for their staff.
The government has prepared seven separate documents, drawn up by Michael Gove and business secretary Alok Sharma, which will form the basis of its proposals to get the UK back to work.
Factories and warehouses, many of which have continued to operate during the ongoing crisis, are also to be told to plan for the “minimum number of people” needed on a site, frequently clean work areas and provide hand sanitiser for all employees tasked with handling deliveries.
The government is due to review the lockdown measures it introduced to combat the spread of coronavirus on May 7.
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