St Elizabeth’s is committed to adopting social distancing measures and adhering to all recommended guidance to enable us to reopen our Charity Shops in a way that ensures we are considered 'Covid Secure'. We have used guidance from the Charity Retail Association and the UK Government to inform our risk assessments.
Measures include:
- From the 24th July 2020, face coverings must be worn at all times while shopping in our branches, unless you are exempt.
- Introducing Social Distancing measures, including limiting the number of customers and staff in each shop at any one time, creating one-way and 2m-spaced-queuing systems (both inside and outside the shop), making hand sanitiser available and clearing crowded areas.
- Creating a new Donation Processing System which ensures all donations are left for a minimum of 72 hours, and then are only sorted wearing gloves and PPE.
- Encouraging shoppers to only handle items they want to purchase, recommending the use of card payments (and contactless where possible), and suggesting customers use their own bags and pack them themselves.
- Regularly cleaning and sanitising areas within our shops that are used my many people, including the till, door handles, card machines and baskets.
- Increasing information signage around the shop.
- Closing the Changing Rooms to customers.
- Providing our staff with the relevant PPE to support them to do their jobs safely.
- Reducing the movement of stock between shops, and suspending our Deliveries and Collections Service in the short term.
- Regularly reviewing the individual Risk Assessments and updating it as and when new guidance comes out.
Each shop is different, and the size and layout means that different approaches have been implemented in different shops. Risk Assessments for each shop are available on request - please email Fundraising on fundraising@stelizabeths.org.uk.