WITH venues such as pubs, theatres and museums opening back up, it's important that businesses have a COVID safety procedure – and ensure the rules work for you, according to safety consultant Simon Jubb of A3C Management.

Simon, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the health and safety sector, recently helped Chertsey Museum to reopen after both the first and third Covid lockdowns.

The museum on Windsor Street wanted help writing and implementing their COVID management system. Much of the advice after the first lockdown was aimed at large museums and didn’t fit the brief for Chertsey’s small museum, which is a three-storey house constructed in 1815.

Conflicting information given to museums and other establishments can be confusing, said Simon: “For example, after Lockdown One the advice to museums was ‘there is no need to wear a mask in a museum, but you need to wear one in a shop’.

“You can only deduce from the statement that whoever came up with that guidance was thinking of a museum the size akin to something like the Natural History Museum – not a small local museum.”

Following discussions with the team at the museum, they decided to make mask wearing compulsory throughout the entire building to keep customers and staff as safe as possible, as well as ensure regular hand washing and sanitising and a one-way system where possible.

“My advice to pubs, hotels, museums and other indoor establishments is that it is your building, your employees and visitors you are protecting, so they are your rules,” he said. “Never be worried about adding extra controls on top of Government guidance if you think it’s required, and never be afraid to stand your ground on safety.

“Make sure your communications to customers and staff are clear and everyone knows what’s expected of them. That way, you will have happy staff and customers, who feel safe and know you care.”

Businesses can download free guides on how to keep their businesses COVID secure from the A3C website: a3c.co.uk/guides