Health and Safety checklist for Office Kitchen

30 January 2019

Benefits of an office kitchen

Having an office kitchen facility for your employees is a great benefit, it encourages employees to make their own lunches which saves money. A common kitchen area also provides a break and social space for your employees to enjoy and recharge for their work productivity.

However Health and Safety should be implemented in all office kitchens to ensure cleanliness, avoid accidents and illnesses. This is for the safety of the employees and also to reduce the possibility of sick days from contamination or catching viruses from other employees.

Below is a list of the different ares of health and safety in office kitchens and a checklist to make sure you’re covered.

Health and Safety Checklist

Fridge

• If there are shared items in the Fridge, e.g. Milk/Butter/ Sauces etc.. is there a person assigned as Hygiene Officer to check for out of out date items?
• Is there a policy in place for employees to look after their own items in the fridge?
• Do you have a weekly or monthly fridge clean out and disinfectant schedule?
• Do you encourage employees to use air tight containers or wrap to avoid cross contamination, especially if there is someone with an allergy in the office.

Counters and Kitchen space

• Are the kitchen counters kept clean and clear?
• Is there a Hygiene Officer or cleaner that disinfects the kitchen area on a regular basis?
• Is there a policy in place for employees to clean up after themselves if using the kitchen facility?
• If there are tea towels provided for your employees, are they washed on a regular basis?
• Is there a fresh supply of Jcloths, dishwasher brushes and/or sponges available to your employees?

Chemicals

• Are cleaning equipment chemicals labelled appropriately?
• Are cleaning equipment chemicals stored appropriately and away from food?

Bins

• Have you supplied the appropriate bins for your employees?
• Do you have a policy in place for food waste not to be put in desk bins? Encourage employees to put food waste in the kitchen bin, a separate recycling food bin is ideal if you have that service available to you.
• Is there a system in place to change bins regularly? Especially if there is food waste in the bin, it should not sit there for more than 3 days.