Health and Safety at Work — the basics

In Ireland, workplace safety is governed by the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 ("SHWWA 2005") and a body of regulations under it. The Act gives both employer and employee specific legal duties.

What the employer must do (Section 8)

• Provide a safe place of work, safe equipment, safe systems of work
• Carry out risk assessments and write a Safety Statement (the shop has one — ask to read it)
• Provide information, instruction, training and supervision
• Provide PPE where needed, free of charge
• Report serious accidents and dangerous occurrences to the HSA
• Consult with staff on safety matters

What you must do as an employee (Section 13)

Section 13 of the 2005 Act spells out your duties. These are legal duties, not preferences — breaching them is a criminal matter and grounds for disciplinary action up to dismissal.

• Take reasonable care for your own safety, health and welfare
• Take reasonable care for the safety, health and welfare of anyone affected by your work — colleagues, customers, contractors
• Comply with safety law and any instruction given by your employer
• Cooperate with your employer on safety matters — including completing training like this
• Not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while at work to the extent it endangers anyone
• Report any defect in equipment, place of work or system of work as soon as practicable
• Not interfere with or misuse anything provided for safety (fire extinguishers, first aid kit, signage)

Your protection — Section 27

Equally important: you cannot be penalised for raising a safety concern in good faith. Section 27 of the 2005 Act protects you from any form of retaliation — dismissal, demotion, transfer, threats, unfair treatment — for:

• Reporting a safety concern to your employer, a safety rep, or the HSA
• Refusing to do work you reasonably believe is dangerous
• Giving evidence in any safety-related proceeding
• Acting as or as part of a safety consultation

How to raise a concern

Speak to your Store Manager first. If you're not satisfied, escalate to Group H&S Coordinators (Amit / Marie) or to a Managing Director. If you believe none of these are addressing a serious risk, you have a direct right to contact the Health and Safety Authority at hsa.ie or 0818 289 389.

Manual Handling — your back is one back

Manual handling injuries are the single biggest source of workplace claims in Irish retail. A bad back from a careless lift can affect you for life. The technique on this page is what protects you.

The law: Schedule 3 of the General Application Regulations 2007 (SI 299/2007) requires manual handling training for anyone whose work involves a risk of injury. That's everyone in a shop.

Before you lift — TILO check

Every lift starts with a 5-second mental check. Train your brain to do this on every load.

The correct lifting technique

Click through the seven steps. Each one matters. Skipping one is how injuries happen.

Right way vs wrong way

Special cases in the shop

• Roll cages — push, don't pull. Two hands. Walk, don't run.
• Stockroom shelves — use the step or kick-stool, never stand on boxes
• Glass and damaged stock — cut-resistant gloves; sweep, don't pick up barehanded
• Deli trays — hot, heavy and slippery. Both hands, mitts, slow movement.

Fire Safety

Fire is the single greatest hazard to life in any commercial premises. Detection, prevention and a fast evacuation are what protect people. Fighting the fire yourself is a distant fourth.

The law

The Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003 place an absolute duty on the person having control of a premises to take "all reasonable measures" to guard against the outbreak of fire and to ensure the safety of persons in the event of fire. The premises has a fire safety register; you have a duty to engage with the fire drill programme.

The fire triangle — remove any one, the fire dies

Prevention is keeping fuel, heat and oxygen apart. In a shop the highest fire risks are: electrical (overheating sockets/cables), kitchen (deli, hot food fryers), and stockroom (cardboard/packaging stacked too high or against heat sources).

Extinguisher types — click each pin

Using the wrong extinguisher on the wrong fire can make it much worse. Especially: water on an electrical or oil fire is dangerous.

Evacuation — the only thing that matters when the alarm sounds

Fire drills are run at least twice a year. They are not optional and they are not a joke. If you treat them as the real thing, the real thing goes smoothly.

Chemical Agents in the Shop

A convenience shop uses a surprising number of chemicals every day: bleach, degreasers, sanitisers, drain cleaner, oven cleaner, coffee machine descaler. Each is regulated.

The law

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemical Agents) Regulations 2001 (as amended) require employers to identify chemical hazards, hold a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for each product, and train staff in safe use. You have a duty to use chemicals only as instructed and never to misuse them.

The single most important rule — NEVER MIX CHEMICALS

The rules that prevent this

• Use products as supplied, in their original labelled containers
• Never decant chemicals into unlabelled bottles or food containers
• Never combine two products to "make a stronger one"
• Always read the label before use — follow dilution ratios exactly
• If you don't know what something is or whether it's safe, ask before using

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) — what it is, where it is

Every chemical product used in the shop has a Safety Data Sheet — a standard 16-section document supplied by the manufacturer telling you exactly how to use, store, and respond to incidents involving that product.

SDSs are kept in the Chemicals folder in your shop's back office. You don't need to memorise them — but you do need to know where they are and how to find one fast.

When to read the SDS

• Before using a chemical you've not used before
• If chemical splashes on skin or in eye — turn straight to Section 4 (First Aid Measures)
• If a customer accidentally ingests / sprays product — Section 4 again, then call Poisons Information at 01 809 2566
• For spill clean-up procedure — Section 6

The pictogram alphabet

Slips, Trips and Falls

More than a third of all reportable workplace injuries in Ireland are slips, trips and falls. In a shop, with wet weather, spillages, deliveries and customer foot traffic, the risk is constant. Almost every one is preventable in under 30 seconds.

Spot — Secure — Sort

The shop's slip / trip discipline is three steps. You learn it in five seconds; you use it for the rest of your career.

Common shop hazards — know them by name

Wet floor sources

• Rainy entrance — mats can soak and become a hazard themselves
• Coffee machine spills
• Cleaning in progress (wet floor signs go up before the mop touches the floor)
• Leaking fridges / freezers — must be reported, not just mopped
• Burst bottle / dropped jar of olive oil etc. — multiple steps to clean fully

Trip hazards

• Cardboard boxes left in aisles during put-away
• Pallet jacks parked at end of aisles
• Cables across walkways (e.g. temporary fan, mop bucket)
• Curled-up mat edges
• Damaged or uneven floor tiles — report for repair

Fall hazards (height)

• Reaching top shelves — use the kick stool or step, never stand on a box
• Stockroom shelves — same rule
• Changing high lightbulbs — don't, that's a maintenance task

First Aid Awareness — not first aid training

This section is awareness only. It is NOT a First Aid certificate — that's a separate two-day FAR (First Aid Response) course run by a registered provider. The shop has named, trained First Aiders — their names are on the Health & Safety notice board.

What you can do

• Call for the trained First Aider immediately
• Call 112 / 999 for any serious situation — don't wait
• Stay with the casualty, reassure them
• Keep bystanders back
• Note the time, what happened, any witnesses

What you must NOT do

• Don't move someone with a possible spinal injury unless their life is in immediate danger
• Don't give food, drink or medicines to a casualty
• Don't perform first aid you have not been trained in
• Don't take photographs or post anything to social media — ever

Common situations — the awareness version

Cuts (minor)

The shop has a kit. The trained First Aider applies pressure and dressing. Glass / blade injuries: clean cut-resistant gloves on, never your bare hand on someone else's blood (infection risk both ways).

Burns and scalds

Cool under running water for at least 10 minutes. Do not apply butter, toothpaste, oil or "remedies". Cover loosely with cling film if available — do not pop blisters.

Choking

If the customer cannot cough or speak, call 112 IMMEDIATELY. Encourage them to keep trying to cough. A trained First Aider may perform back blows / abdominal thrusts.

Suspected heart attack / stroke

Call 112 immediately. Sit them down comfortably. The shop has an AED (defibrillator) on the wall — a trained First Aider knows how to use it. Modern AEDs talk you through it; an untrained user CAN use one in a life-threatening situation.

Seizures / fits

Don't restrain. Don't put anything in their mouth. Move sharp objects away. Time the seizure. Call 112 if longer than 5 minutes or if it's the person's first ever seizure.

After any incident — the Accident Book

Every accident, injury or near-miss involving any person (staff, customer, contractor) must be recorded in the Accident Book the same shift. Don't rely on memory for tomorrow.

The Accident Book covers:

• Date, time, exact location
• Who was involved (name, contact details if customer)
• What happened — facts only, not opinions
• Witnesses
• What action was taken (first aid, ambulance, etc.)

Personal Protective Equipment

PPE is the gear we wear to protect ourselves from hazards that can't be removed by other means — gloves, goggles, aprons, face masks, cut-resistant gloves, sturdy footwear.

The hierarchy of control — PPE is the LAST line

The law (SHWWA 2005 plus the General Application Regulations 2007) requires employers to control hazards in this order. PPE is only used after the higher options have been considered.

This is why PPE is never "instead of" doing the job properly — it's the safety net after everything else.

The PPE you'll see in a Daybreak shop

Your duties around PPE

• Wear it when the task requires it — every time, not "just this once"
• Check it before use — torn glove = no glove
• Look after it — don't leave it scrunched in a corner, don't lend personal items
• Report any damage or shortage to your supervisor
• PPE is provided free of charge — you should never have to buy your own

Food Safety — HACCP Awareness

Daybreak shops sell food. That makes us a food business under EU and Irish law, with duties enforced by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and inspected by your local Environmental Health Officer (EHO).

The law

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs requires every food business to have a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). Your shop has one — it's in the Food Safety folder. Your job is to follow it.

The four enemies of safe food

The temperature danger zone — try the slider

Bacteria multiply fastest between 5°C and 63°C. Below 5°C they slow right down; above 63°C they die. Move the slider to see where different temperatures fall.

The critical control points in a Daybreak shop

• Delivery — chilled food must arrive at ≤5°C, frozen at ≤−18°C
• Storage — fridges checked twice daily (morning + evening), log filled in
• Hot hold — deli hot food kept above 63°C; timer started at first display
• Cooking — food cooked to 75°C core (probe the thickest part)
• Cooling — if applicable, cool from 63°C to 5°C within 90 minutes
• Reheating — to 75°C, only once — never twice

Personal hygiene — your hands are the highest risk

The hand-wash rule

Hands washed thoroughly with soap and warm water, dried with paper towel, for at least 20 seconds. Every time after:

• Using the toilet
• Handling raw food (meat, poultry, fish, eggs)
• Coughing, sneezing, blowing nose
• Eating, drinking, smoking
• Handling rubbish
• Handling money (yes — between cash and food)
• Cleaning tasks

Other hygiene rules

• Long hair tied back; hairnet in deli/hot food area
• No nail varnish, false nails, watches, or jewellery (plain wedding band acceptable) in food prep
• No coughing or sneezing over food — turn away, cover with elbow, wash hands
• Cuts covered with a brightly coloured (blue) waterproof dressing
• "Fit to work" rule: if you have vomiting or diarrhoea, you cannot work with food and must report it. You may not return until 48 hours after the last symptom. This is a legal obligation.

Cross-contamination — raw vs ready-to-eat

The single biggest cause of food-poisoning outbreaks is raw food (especially raw meat, poultry, eggs) contaminating ready-to-eat food (sandwiches, salad, fruit, deli).

The colour rule

The deli uses colour-coded boards and equipment to keep raw and ready-to-eat separate:

Never use a red board for ready-to-eat food, even if you've cleaned it. The colour is the safety net for when cleaning fails.

Fridge rules

• Raw food on the BOTTOM shelf — always
• Ready-to-eat on the TOP shelves — always
• Drips fall down, not up; raw juices must never drip on cooked food
• Everything covered or in lidded containers
• Date-marked: "use-by" or "best before" PLUS the date opened where applicable

Allergens — the law and the 14

Under the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulations (FIC, Regulation 1169/2011) and the Irish implementing regulations, every food business must inform customers about 14 named allergens in any food they sell. Getting this wrong can kill a customer and end a business.

The 14 allergens — you must know these by name

Practice — sort these foods by allergen

Drag each food into the bucket of the allergen it most commonly contains. (Tap to select on mobile, then tap a bucket.)

The "never guess" rule

The four-step allergen response

Data Protection & GDPR

A Daybreak shop processes personal data every day — CCTV footage of customers, staff payroll, customer loyalty data, refund records. All of this is regulated by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

What you need to understand

• Personal data = anything that identifies a person (name, photo, CCTV image, employee number, registration plate)
• The shop is a Data Controller — it decides why and how personal data is used
• You are a Data Processor on the shop's behalf when you handle that data — you must follow instructions
• Misuse of personal data can result in fines up to €20 million or 4% of group turnover, and personal disciplinary action

The day-to-day GDPR rules in the shop

CCTV

• CCTV signs are visible at every entrance — customers are notified before they enter
• Footage is for security, prevention/detection of crime, and health & safety only — never personal use
• Footage is retained for a fixed period (typically 28–30 days) then automatically overwritten
• Never share, copy, or post CCTV footage — ever — even of "funny" incidents
• Gardaí requests for footage go via the Store Manager and require a formal request

Customer information

• Names, addresses, emails captured for any reason are confidential
• Never discuss customer details with anyone outside the role
• Never look up a customer record out of curiosity

Colleague information

• Wages, hours, personal details, performance — all confidential
• Discussing a colleague's pay or personal data is gross misconduct

Data breach — the 72-hour rule

What counts as a breach

• Personal data emailed to the wrong recipient
• USB stick / laptop with personal data lost
• Customer details posted online or to social media
• CCTV footage taken or shared outside the procedure
• Personnel file left on the photocopier
• Suspected hack or unauthorised access to systems

Report it, even if you're not sure. Better an unnecessary report than a missed deadline.

Subject Access Requests

A customer or employee can ask to see all the personal data the shop holds about them. The shop has 1 month to respond. If you receive any such request — written or verbal — pass it to the Store Manager same day. The clock has started.

Dignity at Work

Every employee has a legal right to a workplace free from bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. The employer has a legal duty to provide it. These are not "HR niceties" — they are enforceable rights under Irish and EU law.

The framework

• Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015 — prohibits harassment and sexual harassment on any of nine grounds (Section 12)
• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 — employer must manage workplace bullying as a health and safety risk
• WRC Code of Practice on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work (2020) — the procedure the shop follows
• Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice) (Bullying) Order 2002 / 2020 (SI 674/2020)

The definitions you need to know

Bullying

"Repeated inappropriate behaviour, direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual's right to dignity at work."

Key word: repeated. A single incident, however unpleasant, is generally not bullying — it might be a different issue (harassment, grievance, conduct).

Harassment

Unwanted conduct related to any of the nine grounds (Section 12 below) which has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Harassment can be a single incident if serious enough.

Sexual harassment

Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, including:

• Physical contact — touching, brushing past, hugging
• Verbal — jokes, comments, remarks about appearance
• Non-verbal — looks, gestures, images, messages

Sexual harassment is judged by the impact on the receiver, not the intent of the perpetrator. "I was only joking" is not a defence.

If it happens to you, or you see it happening

If you are the one experiencing it

If you see it happening to someone else

Don't be a bystander. Check in with them privately. Encourage them to report. If you witnessed it, you may be asked to give a statement — do so honestly. You are protected by Section 27 of the SHWWA 2005 from any retaliation.

What the shop will do

The shop follows the formal procedure in the Employee Handbook and the WRC Code of Practice. Initial informal resolution where appropriate; formal investigation otherwise. The complainant and the respondent both have rights to a fair process. Confidentiality is protected as far as possible — but cannot be absolute where safety is at risk.

Equality & Diversity — the Nine Grounds

Under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015, it is illegal to discriminate against any employee, job applicant, or customer on any of nine specific grounds. This applies to hiring, pay, training, promotion, dismissal, and the way you provide service.

The forms of discrimination

• Direct discrimination — treating someone less favourably because of one of the nine grounds (e.g., refusing to hire a pregnant applicant)
• Indirect discrimination — a rule that looks neutral but disadvantages a protected group (e.g., a "no headwear" rule that disadvantages religious dress)
• Harassment on any of the nine grounds (Section 11)
• Victimisation — punishing someone for making, supporting, or being a witness in a complaint

Reasonable accommodation — disability

For employees with disabilities, the employer has a legal duty to make reasonable accommodation (adjustments) unless they would impose a disproportionate burden. Examples:

• Adjusted shift patterns for medical appointments
• Modified equipment (e.g., stool at the till for someone who can't stand all shift)
• Adjusted task allocation (e.g., not lifting heavy goods)

If you have a disability or health condition that affects how you can do your job, talk to your Store Manager. The shop wants to know and will help where possible.

Equality and customer service

The nine grounds also apply to how you serve customers. Under the Equal Status Acts 2000–2018, refusing to serve someone because of one of the nine grounds is a criminal matter and can result in the loss of the licence.

• Never refuse service based on someone's appearance, accent, or origin
• Never make jokes or comments about a customer's protected characteristic
• Customers with disabilities — offer help if it seems welcome, don't fuss if not
• Customers with assistance dogs — always welcome, even in food premises (this is law, not preference)
• Customers with autism / sensory issues — calm, patient, low-stimulation interaction

Young Persons in the Workplace

If your shop employs anyone under 18, the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 imposes specific limits on what they can do, when they can work, and how much. These rules apply automatically the moment an under-18 starts \u2014 every shop, every shift, every roster.

Key definitions

• Child — under 16 (very limited employment permitted; not employed by Daybreak)
• Young person — aged 16 or 17 — protected by special rules below
• Adult — 18 and over — standard rules apply

The rules for 16- and 17-year-olds

Working hours

School-term rules (still in education)

If the young person is in full-time education, they may not work during normal school hours, and weekly hours during term are further restricted (usually max 8 hrs on a Saturday, 2 hrs on a school day).

Prohibited tasks for under-18s

• Selling or serving alcohol, tobacco, vapes, lottery, scratch cards
• Working alone in the shop
• Opening or closing the shop alone
• Heavy lifting beyond reasonable limits
• Cash handling at night / cash drops
• Cleaning with strong chemicals where SDS restricts
• Operating a deli slicer (a "prescribed machine" under the Act)

What the shop must do

• See and copy the young person's birth certificate before employing them
• Get written consent from parent / guardian if under 18
• Provide a written summary of the Act and current Order to the young person
• Keep records of hours worked, rest periods, breaks for at least 3 years
• Carry out a specific Young Persons Risk Assessment for each role
• Ensure adequate supervision at all times the young person is working

If you're working with under-18 colleagues

Look out for them. If you see them being rostered for prohibited tasks or near-prohibited hours, flag it to the Store Manager or Group H&S Coordinator. The Act gives them special protection because they need it — the responsibility for compliance is shared.

If the shop is robbed

Robbery is rare but always possible — and shops in our sector have been targeted. The response below is what protects you — not the cash.

The five Cs

After a robbery — what happens

• The shop closes immediately and stays closed until the Gardaí have processed the scene
• Everyone present gets immediate access to support — the EAP (01 800 936 710) is the first point of call
• Statements are taken — to the Gardaí, and to the insurance investigator
• No one is asked to return to work the same shift; paid time off is offered
• Trauma counselling is provided through the EAP — use it. Robbery is a recognised cause of PTSD in retail workers, and early support changes the outcome.
• Internal incident review with Group H&S to identify any preventive improvements

Daily prevention discipline

Most robberies are opportunistic. Tight cash handling makes the shop less attractive as a target.

• Frequent cash lifts — keep the till low
• Cash drops into the drop safe done out of sight
• Never count cash openly at the counter
• Banking trips at varied times, varied routes — never predictable
• Lone working risk assessment in effect at quiet times
• CCTV monitor visible to the customer at the counter (deterrent)
• Panic alarm tested weekly; everyone knows where it is
• Doors and shutters maintained; security lighting working

Knowledge check

Choose the best answer for each question. You can change your answer before submitting. Pass mark: 22 out of 32. There is no limit on retries.