Civil unrest – protecting your organisation

Protests are by nature unpredictable, but your organisation can take steps to help mitigate risk to its people and property. These include:

• Review work practices if protests are anticipated. Ask staff to avoid areas where protests may occur, and switch to virtual meetings if necessary. Consider rescheduling any planned events.
• If staff must come in, relax dress codes. Avoid wearing any branded business wear.
• Review security arrangements for your premises. Limit the number of entry points to your property and keep doors secured when not in use.
• Remove waste and other items that could be used by protestors to cause criminal damage.
• Move any valuable items to secure areas.
• Test life safety systems, such as fire alarms, and electronic security systems, such as intruder alarms, in advance.
• Review your organisation's Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to make sure it can effectively respond to any disruption. You can find guidance on developing a BCP on our website if you don’t already have one.
• Train relevant staff on the dos and don’ts of responding to protests.
• Monitor national and local news channels and social media for the latest updates on protests, and be ready to adapt business operations to reflect increased risk.
• If you are concerned about the safety of your staff or property, call the police. Remember to report any criminal activity.
• Notify your insurer as soon as possible after any incident that might trigger a claim.

If you need more information, the National Business Crime Centre has developed some helpful guidance for businesses during mass public events.