Quick Guide to Safely Managing Queues

Your COVID-19 risk assessment should outline the steps you have taken to manage queues inside and outside your premises. You could consider implementing the following:

Ensure you have regard to social distancing when managing queues:

• Ensure you are able to maintain a distance of 2m between customers and shop assistants or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable; 
• Let people enter the shop only in small numbers, to ensure that spaces are maintained around your premises;
• Queue control is required outside of shops and other essential premises that remain open;
• Consider whether additional security staff may be required to support staff. If you do need extra staff, please check Security Industry Authority (SIA) guidance on whether they require an SIA licence.

Where pavements are narrow, or there are lots of shops in close proximity, the following could be considered:

• Speak to nearby premises to work together to manage possible shared queuing areas;
• Consider whether temporary barriers and floor marking should be utilised and may become necessary to stop people joining a queue. If floor markings are required, then tape or stickers should be used rather than permanent marking.

Where there is likely to be increased vehicle congestion as a result of your store reopening, consider the following:

• Discuss queue management with business centre management to determine the best way to avoid congestion;
• Consider using car park attendants and a queue management system to ensure that queues do not spill onto roads;
• Consider delivering goods directly to customers’ cars or provide a timed click and collect service to reduce queues;
• If you expect a large queue as a result of your businesses reopening, consider speaking to your local authority highways department about how to mitigate the risk.

Guide prepared by The Greater Manchester Regulatory Centre of Excellence (GMRCE), a partnership of Greater Manchester local authorities and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.

More information is available on the UK Government’s Coronavirus Business Support website. For more personalised advice call us on: 0161 237 4128 or email us at: BGH@growthco.uk

The information provided is meant as a general guide only rather than advice or assurance. GC Business Growth Hub does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and professional guidance should be sought on all aspects of business planning and responses to the coronavirus. Use of this guide and toolkit are entirely at the risk of the user. Any hyperlinks from this document are to external resources not connected to the GC Business Growth Hub and The Growth Company is not responsible for the content within any hyperlinked site.