Working in a supermarket or retail outlet can place employees in a variety of dangerous situations, and without a safe system of work and adequate training, injuries can often occur.

Graham Coffey & Co Solicitors have successfully recovered compensation from hundreds of employees injured whilst working in the shop environment. Our specialist retail injury solicitors have the experience to make sure that employers are held to account when an employee suffers an injury.

Injury Claims for Supermarket Warehouse Workers

• Stacking Shelves
• Heavy lifting
• Working up ladders
• Using poorly maintained equipment
• Over-reaching
• Unloading deliveries

Regardless of how large the employer, a supermarket or street front store, the employer must make sure the employee is trained, knows how to work safely, has been provided the right equipment to do the job and, where necessary, has assistance with more difficult tasks.

Shop Floor Accident Case Study

We successfully recovered compensation for a Mr. P. who worked for B&Q. He routinely used Stanley knives taken from the shelves to cut away packaging for customers. His employers knew he and fellow employees did this and, in fact, encouraged it to save time. He was given no training on the use of Stanley knives, nor was he provided scissors which would have been far more appropriate and safe.

Employers must consider the employees suitability. For example, people with a history of bad backs shouldn't be stacking high shelving.

Many stores have storage facilities attached to them and it's imperative that employers recognise the dangers of storage areas:

• Products piled too high
• Walkways obstructed
• Lack of safe elevated access to high shelves
• Old and poorly maintained ladders
• Collapsed shelving

Clothing outlets are especially hazardous. Employers must make sure a system is in place to prevent discarded clothing from causing a tripping hazard, not just to shoppers, but to employees as well. Often, employers adopt poor clothes rack organisations, place too many clothes on a rack and fail to carry out systematic inspections of the floor area.

You must be given time to take a break, and constant working can often lead to mistakes and accidents.

Slipping on spills or dropped fruit occurs frequently in supermarkets. Your employer must protect you as an employee not just the public. This means employing a safe system of cleaning and inspection, and ensuring that employees are trained to spot potential hazards.