When you run a business, you have to protect your employees, but you also need to protect the public. Whether you have a public-facing business, you sell physical products or you offer professional advice, all of these things could cause problems for members of the public if you’re not careful. It’s essential to take the right steps to protect the public so that they’re not injured and don’t suffer any other damages due to something that your business did or didn’t do. Keep reading to find out how to protect the public and protect your business in the process.
Manage Access
Sometimes members of the public are allowed on business premises, and sometimes they’re not. If you run a store, you obviously want customers to come and see you. If you have an office, you might sometimes have visitors but require them to sign in at reception. Managing access to your premises is important because you only want to allow certain people. You might need to buy temporary fencing to keep the public away from a construction site. Your office might have a security system that only allows entry to members of staff. These things can prevent accidents, especially on dangerous sites.
Take Safety Measures on Your Premises
When you do have members of the public visiting your business, you need to keep them safe. This can involve a lot of different things depending on the environment. You might restrict their access to certain areas to prevent accidents. It’s important to carry out a risk assessment of the areas where they will be to identify and mitigate any problems. Think about things ranging from fire hazards to trips and falls, which could lead to injury or other problems. What risks are there to the public and how can you prevent them from getting hurt?
Ensure the Safety of Your Products
If you sell physical products, they need to be safe for your customers. If you’re selling products manufactured by someone else, you should check that they have the right certifications and approvals. It’s also important to pay attention to any recall notices to make sure you remove defective or dangerous products from your inventory. If you make your own products, they need to be thoroughly tested to ensure their safety and they need to have the appropriate certifications if any area required. Make sure you know of any safety requirements that are set out by law.
Take Out Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance protects you if your business does happen to be held responsible for someone getting injured or suffering damages. Taking it out will offer you protection against a variety of things, such as people getting injured on your premises or by your products. While it might seem like you can save money by skipping insurance, you could end up losing a lot more if you have to pay for a legal settlement.
Protect the public and your business by putting measures in place that prevent accidents and injuries, as well as other problems.