The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has published regulations relating to the selling and distribution of products via e-commerce platforms.
The regulations, in essence, determine as follows:
- all products, with the exception of alcohol and tabacco products, may be sold via e-commerce and delivered via courier services;
- all OHS regulations, as determined by the Department of Employment and Health, must be adhered to;
- retailers must give prominence to products manufactured in South Africa;
- when packaging goods, retailers must provide written guidelines for customers on how to safely disinfect their goods before use;
- retailers must put in place collection protocols to ensure that adequate social distancing is maintained by courier- or delivery service personnel when collecting goods from a warehouse or depot;
- all goods must be sanitised, in line with the guidelines published by the National Department of Health, before leaving the warehouse or depot;
- all courier- and delivery personnel must have their own hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes, which must be replenished daily;
- courier- and delivery personnel must wear a cloth face mask that covers the nose and mouth when delivering goods to customers;
- courier- and delivery personnel must maintain at least one and a half metres distance from other courier or delivery personnel, when collecting goods for delivery, and customers when delivering goods;
- courier- and delivery service personnel may not enter the home of a customer if such customer, and any other residents within the immediate vicinity, are not wearing a cloth face mask or a homemade item that covers the nose and mouth;
- employees may not share face masks, equipment, stationery, utensils or similar items;
- designated and adequately trained health and safety officers must take each employee’s temperature using appropriate equipment or instruments at the start of a shift and every four hours after the shift commences; and
- records of the temperatures of each employee must be kept and any employee whose temperature is 37,5 degrees or above should immediately be moved to an isolated
Please CLICK HERE to view the regulations.
Gerhard Papenfus | Chief Executive | National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) | mail me |