An early initiative saw Tesco back the Health and Safety Executive's "Better Backs" campaign which saw the company invite qualified exercise professionals to lead back-friendly exercise classes in stores throughout the UK. Derek Hopkins, from Tesco said that from the point of view of an employer there were many ways to help staff get back to work with back pain, helping them to manage the condition and maintain consistent levels of customer service and quality.

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Sainsbury's revised its footwear policy as part of measures to try and reduce the number of slips trips and falls in its stores as part of the HSE's "Shattered Lives" campaign, to reduce the number of slips and trips as well as falls from height, it reversed the previous decisions by Sainsbury's management which led to staff being issued with steel toecap footwear. After a review of the risks involved the company decided that slip-resistant shoes were more necessary in certain areas such as at food counters and in restaurants.

The new footwear was successfully trialled and the uniform buyers then simplified their footwear guidance to introduce more slip resistant styles. Over 15,000 pairs of shoes have since been issued to staff with the changes having been well received.

The Health and Safety Executive, in a case study, looked at two particular areas relating to health and safety in supermarkets, namely when people enter a store with water on their shoes due to wet weather and spillages in the retail area. Three interim actions were decided upon; to improve the drying of customers' footwear, identify when water was being walked onto the store floor and to try and remove any "walk in" water. So more matting was laid out in wet weather and replacement mats available when the original mats became wet.

Also, store greeters at the store's entrance were told to ensure that the mats stayed in position and cleaning staff on hand to respond to any calls to replace matting and mop away any "walk in" water.

With spillages in store the policy was for regular floor cleaning, to identify floor contamination, remove it as soon as possible and keep customers away from the area until it was cleaned up. Training was also given to staff to keep them alert to the possibility of spillages and what to do when they happened.

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