Body stressing injuries as a result of performing manual tasks is highest cause of injury in both retail and wholesale industries.  

Common hazardous manual tasks in the retail and wholesale industries include manually handling heavy, bulky and awkward items, handling below mid-thigh and above shoulder height, multiple handling of stock, sustained standing and cashier work.

Occupations at greatest risk depend on the sub-sectors. They include occupations such as sales assistants, store-persons, checkout operators, fitters and delivery drivers.

Workers in the supermarket and grocery store retailing sub-sector and basic material wholesaling (eg agricultural, metal and timber product wholesaling) sub-sector have been shown to be at high risk of obtaining body stressing injuries.

Please refer to the ‘Common hazardous manual tasks’ section of this website for more detailed information about relevant manual tasks such as handling heavy, bulky and awkward loads, handling trolleys, drum handling and stacking shelves.

• Industry checklist - supermarkets and grocery stores
• Manual handling in liquor retail industry 
• Checkout workstations in retail - safe design and work practices

Industry specific references

• WorkSafe Victoria, 2005, Manual order picking