Are you in the process of reopening your restaurant during the pandemic? While this is great news for you and your customers, you’re bound to be faced with a great set of new challenges.
As a business owner, you have a duty of care to ensure your employees are protected from any risks of transmission. Here are the best protocols to establish to safeguard employee health:
Face Masks & Protective Equipment
Face masks prevent droplets from spreading. As such, providing employees with face masks and gloves shouldn’t be an option; it should be a given. You can also invest in other protective equipment like face shields and sneeze guards. Just remember, one case of coronavirus will be disastrous for your business. So if you’re thinking of cutting corners, think twice – as it’ll likely be at the expense of your employees’ health.
Enforce Social Distancing
Depending on where you live, social distancing regulations can vary. Therefore, it’s best to check the advice of your local health authority body. To further reinforce social distancing, it’s best to limit your store capacity, remove self-serve food and drink stations, install physical barriers, display signage about protective measures, and place markers on the ground to help everyone maintain the right distance apart.
Strict Hygiene Practices
Employees should wash their hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Apart from making frequent handwashing a habit, employees must also observe the correct sneezing and coughing etiquette and use hand sanitiser when necessary.
Disinfect & Clean
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the COVID-19 virus can live on hard surfaces for up to 72 hours. As such, having a rigorous cleaning schedule is non-negotiable. From your shopfront to employee-only areas, ensure everything is sanitised and wiped down often – be it doorknobs, workstations, touchscreens, equipment handles or high-touch surfaces.
Contactless Menus & Payments
Tap and go payments reduce exposure to lingering germs and provide both your employees and customers with more peace of mind. As well as that, you can take the extra step by switching out print menus for an online menu viewing experience – made possible by software like Menuzen.
Daily Health Checks
To monitor your employees’ health, health checks should be implemented as a restaurant policy. It is recommended to conduct temperature checks on your employees before the start of their shift to detect potential signs of fever.
Stay Vigilant
As soon as you notice any COVID-19 symptoms – such as a fever, cough or any difficulty in breathing – in an employee, separate them from your team and send them home immediately. They must consult a healthcare professional before returning to work, even if they begin feeling better at home. Taking a gamble can cost you your entire business, so don’t take any chances!
