WH Smith refuses to bow to pressure from staff to close stores because of coronavirus

The UK government is considering forcing the closure of all non-essential shops in an escalation of measures to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. A string of high street retailers have recently announced that they are closing all their stores.

“The Govt considering next steps like closing non-essential retail or whether to start treating people flouting the stay at home advice as acting against the law – all being discussed – huge decisions, nothing final,” the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, tweeted on Monday.

The government did not comment on the suggestion before the prime minister’s daily press conference.

Many European countries and US states have forced the closure of all shops, with the exception of those deemed essential, such as supermarkets, other food retailers and pharmacies.

Morrisons and Aldi to put up checkout screens to protect staff Read more

Greggs, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Costa Coffee, Eat, Primark, Debenhams, Next and Waterstones, and The Works joined the growing list of restaurant chains and retailers closing all of their UK outlets as the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in the UK neared 6,000 and claimed more than 300 lives.

Roger Whiteside, chief executive of Greggs, said the bakery chain’s 2,050 shops would be closed by the end of Tuesday. “It is now clear that to protect our people and customers we need to go further and temporarily close our shops completely,” he said.

The company said all Greggs’ 25,000 staff would be paid “full contract hours for as long as is practicable” with support of the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. Under the scheme, the government has committed to pay 80% of all employees wages up to £2,500 a month if companies keep them on the books.

Costa Coffee announced that 2,700 of its stores would close on Monday night. The chain said it would try to keep open some of its shops within hospitals and would give free coffee to NHS workers for the next two weeks.

Debenhams said it was closing its 140 department stores in the UK and Ireland. Card Factory and Moss Bros followed with total closures. The Royal Horticultural Society and Squires Garden Centres closed their garden centres.

However, WH Smith refused to bow to pressure from staff to close its doors. The chief executive, Carl Cowling, vowed to keep open its 1,200 stores and told workers the company was “positioning ourselves to government as an essential retailer”.

Some WH Smith employees said they felt their health was being put at risk by the chain’s refusal to close. “I was shocked and appalled by how busy our store was on Saturday and people’s disregard for safety,” one member of staff said. “It’s putting the general public and ourselves at risk. We don’t want to be there, but we feel like we have to.”



In a letter to staff last week, the WH Smith boss said: “In our high street stores, we have a retail offer that extends to every generation. We can provide essential products to our younger pre-school customers; an unrivalled education officer with accompanying stationery range to children, teenagers and students; a fantastic books offer for everyone; and a news and magazines offer that can’t be beaten, enabling communities to access information and keep up to date with what is happening at the current time.”

The prime minister has repeatedly called on the public to stay at home whenever possible and only venture out for essentials such as food or medicine. On Friday, he ordered all pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and other venues to close. Restaurants and cafes were told they could continue to offer takeaway food and drink.

People have been warned against any congregation in groups, even outdoors. Some have been ignoring this advice, prompting calls for Boris Johnson to take stronger action, including closing non-essential shops and calling on the police to disperse any gatherings.

Quick guide What to do if you have coronavirus symptoms in the UK Show Hide Symptoms are defined by the NHS as either: a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

a new continuous cough - this means you've started coughing repeatedly NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.

If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home. After 14 days, anyone you live with who does not have symptoms can return to their normal routine. But, if anyone in your home gets symptoms, they should stay at home for 7 days from the day their symptoms start. Even if it means they're at home for longer than 14 days. If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days. If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible. After 7 days, if you no longer have a high temperature you can return to your normal routine. If you still have a high temperature, stay at home until your temperature returns to normal. If you still have a cough after 7 days, but your temperature is normal, you do not need to continue staying at home. A cough can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.

Staying at home means you should: not go to work, school or public areas

not use public transport or taxis

not have visitors, such as friends and family, in your home

not go out to buy food or collect medicine – order them by phone or online, or ask someone else to drop them off at your home You can use your garden, if you have one. You can also leave the house to exercise – but stay at least 2 metres away from other people. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, use the NHS 111 coronavirus service to find out what to do. Source: NHS England on 23 March 2020

The latest figures on shopper numbers show a 31% drop in people visiting the high street last week, compared with the same week a year earlier. The Springboard footfall figure for the week of 15-21 March was down 41% compared with a week earlier. In central London, the decline was 63.3%, compared with the same week in 2019.

Diane Wehrle, of Springboard, said: “The annual change represented an unprecedented decline in retail footfall that was three times greater than the worst result we have ever previously recorded.”

Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk

Primark said its 376 stores in 12 countries would close until further notice. There are 189 Primark shops in the UK.

Waterstones said it would close its 280 UK branches from Monday. Only hours previously, its chief executive, James Daunt, had said the bookstore chain was “no different to a supermarket or a pharmacy” and would stay open during the coronavirus shutdown.