Has Your Business Been Affected by the Cold Weather?
The winter months have brought the usual challenges—stormy winds, heavy snowfall, and freezing temperatures—affecting businesses across the UK. Many business owners have to navigate power outages, transport disruptions, and the risk of property damage. If your business has been affected, or if you want to be better prepared for future winters, here are some key considerations to ensure continuity and protection.
Plan for the worst
According to the Met Office, 43% of small businesses don’t have any continuity, disaster recovery or crisis management plans. If bad weather hits and you don’t have a plan in place, everything from power outages to extreme traffic delays for staff could be a nightmare for your business.
Here are eight steps to help small business owners put processes in place for disruptive events:
Understand your business-critical functions and activities
Set timeframes
Assess your risk
Reduce your risk
Develop an emergency plan
Develop an emergency communications plan
Communicate and rehearse your plans
Revisit and update your plans.
Check your building
Broken roof tiles, frozen pipes and faulty heating systems can all cause major issues for homes and businesses. Carrying out a full inspection and risk assessment of your building could save you a headache and large costs later down the line.
It might be tempting to turn the heating off if your building will be vacant during some of the winter, such as at Christmas, to save money and energy. However, it’s important to remember that water freezes at 0°C, so it’s advised to keep buildings at a minimum of 12 - 13°C to avoid pipes freezing, even if they are shut.
Don’t get caught out by escape of water
In winter, there’s a visible increase in escape of water claims due to burst pipes. Data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) also shows that the number of escape of water commercial claims has been steadily rising for over a decade.
Workplaces often have more water outlets than homes, including air conditioning, heating systems and water coolers. Therefore, the impact of any escape of water could cause severe damage to a commercial property.
There are a few ways to reduce the likelihood of escape of water happening in your office or business premises. We’d advise carrying out regular assessments with a trained professional, who can check over your whole water system and highlight any issues. In the run up to, and during the winter months, you may want to think about having monthly health checks to ensure everything is in working order. You could also look at installing a LeakBot – these smart water leak detectors can spot hidden leaks before they become a big problem.
Keeping your staff well
Infectious illnesses can have a huge impact on individuals and businesses. It’s thought that lower levels of vitamin D due to lack of sunlight in December, January and February can weaken our immune system, making us more prone to catching viruses and infections.
The last thing you want is a large portion of your team off sick at once. One option is to encourage staff who are feeling under the weather to work from home, so their colleagues don’t catch it.
Another way to prevent illnesses spreading is by advising your people to ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’:
Catch it: cough or sneeze into a tissue
Bin it: throw away tissues straight away
Kill it: wash hands as soon as possible.
You could also look at encouraging vulnerable workers to get a flu jab. The flu vaccine is free on the NHS for people who:
Are 50 and over
Have certain health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and chronic heart disease
Are pregnant
Receive a carer's allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if they get sick
Live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)
Are frontline health or social care workers.
Make sure your business insurance is up to date
As your business evolves, your insurance needs may also change. Perhaps you’ve moved offices, have extended your premises or have grown your team. To discuss a new policy or simply find ways to strengthen your current package, the Redwood team are here to help you find the best cover for you and your people. Get in touch by calling 01268 776 277.
