Having a successful coffee shop goes beyond curating a menu of delicious treats and ensuring the atmosphere is cosy and inviting. Ticking off all the health and safety café signage requirements will help you create an environment that’s both legally compliant and safe for staff and guests alike.
Whether it’s hazard prevention, food safety, or general visitor information, making sure your coffee shop health and safety policy is followed by installing all the relevant signs is a great way to safeguard everyone’s well-being. Here are some essential signage to consider:
A Kitchen Health and Safety Checklist
A core part of a fool-proof health and safety café policy is having a thorough kitchen health and safety checklist, complete with clearly visible signs which guide best practices when handling food. These can include:
Hand washing signs – Putting this one on top of your café hygiene checklist won’t just promote greater food safety, but also demonstrate to patrons that you’re committed to food hygiene.
Place a ‘wash and sanitise your hands’ sign near your café kitchen sink to remind staff they should cleanse often, in particular after using the toilets and before food prep.
Food handling attire – You can go a step further and also include signs reminding kitchen staff about wearing a hairnet or an apron, if that’s part of your café hygiene checklist.
After all, the proper cooking attire not only keeps clothing clean, but helps elevate your venue’s food safety by protecting meals and drinks from flyaway hairs and clothes debris as well as the mandatory hand germ prevention.
Storage instructions – Another important element of food health and safety in a café is storing all the food items properly, both before and after they’ve been cooked.
You can have simple signposts such as an ‘always separate and store raw foods and cooked foods’ sign or invest in a more detailed food preparation and storage guide.
Allergen awareness – Not to be dramatic, but this sign can save lives. Crucial for both compliance and the well-being of your guests, a food classification safety sign will inform your staff how to best handle different food categories to avoid cross-contamination.
Read more: What is Food Classification Safety?
Hazard Warning Signs
Another important aspect of café health and safety requirements is the proper use of hazard warning signs throughout the building. This signage will make visitors aware of certain potential dangers, including:
Slips, trips, and falls caution – Perhaps the most common café health and safety sight are the ubiquitous fall prevention signs; whether you’re warning customers of a slippery surface when wet, cleaning in progress, or to mind the step.
If you have stairs or ramps in your establishment, or areas with particularly low ceilings, you should also consider things like a ‘use handrail’ sign or a ‘risk of overhead hazard’ warning. These signs can not only ensure visitors have an accident-free experience, but also safeguard you against any lawsuits.
Electrical hazards – Your café health and safety policy should also include signs warning your employees of potential risks associated with electrical equipment such as dishwashers and coffee machines.
Mark any dangerous zones with electrical warning signs and provide staff with in-depth training on how to use the technology.
Burn risks – In a similar vein, the areas around appliances with high-temperature surfaces (like coffee machines, but also any ovens or grills) should be marked with a hot surface warning symbol to avoid burns among your team, but also as a caution to any nearby customers.
Fire Health and Safety in Cafés
No coffee shop health and safety policy is complete without setting up signage to assist with fire safety – both in public-facing areas, and staff-only spaces. There are several important aspects to cover:
Fire exit signs – The key thing to invest in when it comes to your café’s fire safety is a comprehensive range of fire exit signs.
In addition to clearly signposting the safest way out of the building for everyone, this type of signage should outline any specific actions required – whether that’s ‘push bar to open’ or ‘in case of fire break glass’.
We would always encourage the use of ‘keep clear’ signs near fire exits too. This will ensure chairs, tables, pushchairs, or wheelchairs do not become an obstruction in an emergency.
Assembly points – While this might sometimes seem like an afterthought, fire assembly point signs are a key element of fire health and safety café policy. They help avoid confusion in what can otherwise be a chaotic situation, and – most importantly – allow you to do an efficient headcount.
Firefighting equipment – You should also supplement the above with the appropriate fire equipment signs. Make sure the locations of your fire extinguishers are clearly marked, along with proper visual identification and use instructions.
If you have additional equipment – such as a fire hose reel, fire ladder, or a fire blanket, take care to signpost these clearly too, and train your employees on when/how to use them.
General Information Signs
On top of signs that help you comply with various aspects of café health and safety requirements, there is more general signage you should consider to ensure the best experience for your guests.
Restrooms – From pointing patrons towards the designated bathroom areas to ensuring customers who require accessible facilities can make their way there effortlessly. Clear toilet signs are a must for any café.
No smoking warnings – Even though it’s been a long time since smoking indoors was the norm in the UK, comprehensive no smoking signs are still recommended, especially when serving food and drinks.
These days, you might also want to consider including a no e-cigarette warning to avoid vape smoke reducing the air quality of your establishment.
Health and Safety Café Signs from Label Source
Kitting your café out with all the necessary signs isn’t just an important step of complying with coffee shop health and safety policy; it’s also a sure-fire way to make the environment safer, more efficient, and more welcoming for guests.
If you need help working your way through the list of café health and safety requirements for signage, contact us and our team of experts will be happy to help.
