For many business owners, the Christmas season is a chance to close up shop and enjoy a well-deserved break with family and friends. However, holiday closures can also increase the risk of theft, vandalism, fire hazards, and safety incidents. Without the right precautions in place, this season of joy and celebration can quickly turn into an anxious time for business owners.
Fortunately, with the right security measures in place, these risks can be effectively managed, giving business owners confidence and peace of mind. Gary Agnew, Head of Solutions, Securitas UK outlines key takeaways to prepare your business and ensure safety and security is front of mind this holiday season.
- Mobile patrols: secure sites for a silent night
During the holidays, many commercial and industrial sites operate with minimal staff – and some are left unoccupied. This reduction in on-site personnel creates opportunities for theft, vandalism, or other security breaches, as empty business premises can be seen as easy targets by criminals.
Mobile security patrols provide a vital layer of protection during these vulnerable periods. This ensures a real-time, in-person presence ready to respond to incidents, deter criminal activity, and identify early signs of issues such as damage or unauthorised access, allowing issues to be addressed quickly before they escalate.
Unlike CCTV alone, mobile patrols add the human insight and real-time decision-making that technology alone cannot provide. With officers physically present on-site, businesses benefit from immediate response, proactive intervention, and the ability to assess situations as they unfold. Detailed patrol reports also provide insight into site conditions, helping organisations maintain security standards even during periods of minimal staffing.
- Always On: The power of remote security monitoring
Even the most advanced technology cannot fully replace human judgment, but it can amplify it. Deploying effective technology to identify any unwanted presence on your site and connecting this to a security operations centre can offer constant surveillance even when your business is closed.
Security devices deter intruders and provide crucial evidence should a security breach occur. More importantly, professional monitoring teams provide trained oversight, ensuring that any alerts or suspicious activity are assessed and acted upon immediately – reducing false alarms, improving emergency response times, and helping prevent incidents before they escalate. Remote monitoring allows businesses to maintain a secure presence without being physically on-site, combining technology with human insight to protect assets, people, and property around the clock.
- Access control systems: keeping out unwanted visitors
Access control is vital during holiday closures when fewer people are around to monitor who enters the premises. Ensuring only people with the relevant credentials can access the premises out of hours is critical to ensuring the safety of the site.
Moreover, while the primary function of advanced access control systems may be to keep people out of places where they shouldn’t be, the data they generate for security purposes can now be put to work elsewhere – helping make informed decisions. For instance, analysing footfall in certain areas allows for the adjustment of heating, lighting, and ventilation to match actual occupancy rather than running them on fixed schedules. Ultimately, avoiding unnecessary energy use, when only a skeleton staff is on-site.
Leveraging access control solutions for more than security is becoming common place but the primary function remains. Adding a layer of authentication to manage access out of hours is also a key function of security operations centres and can provide an extra layer of protection during quieter periods, like the holidays.
- Fire prevention and response: cooling down the risks
From a discarded cigarette to deliberate acts, businesses must stay alert to potential fire and safety threats – especially when premises are closed over Christmas. Festive decorations can unintentionally increase these risks; a string of lights left on overnight, or a dry tree placed near a heat source for example, could have catastrophic impact.
Integrating fire safety into your overall protection strategy helps identify potential hazards early and ensures a rapid response if an incident occurs. PAT testing of electrical equipment and regular fire risk assessments are key to mitigating potential hazards. Trained patrol officers play a vital role too – spotting fire risks, checking that extinguishers and alarms are operational, and reporting issues before they escalate. Meanwhile, operations centres monitoring your site can act swiftly at the first sign of smoke or fire, coordinating with emergency services to ensure a rapid response.
This proactive approach not only reduces the likelihood of costly damage but also gives business owners confidence that fire prevention is being actively managed – even when no one is on site.
- Lone worker safety: supporting staff during the holidays
During the festive season, many businesses operate with skeleton staff, making lone worker safety more important than ever. Advanced lone worker systems provide crucial support, monitoring key indicators such as falls, periods of immobility, SOS distress calls, lying down for extended periods, missed check-ins, and prolonged inactivity. These systems often include listen-in capabilities, allowing for real-time assessment of situations and, if necessary, rapid escalation to emergency services.
Periods of shut down for businesses are usually seasons when workers are taking a well-deserved break. However, this often coincides with heightened risks and a shift in working patterns. There may be a need to adjust how you approach security and safety during these periods to ensure your people, property and assets are safe and secure. Reviewing your security risk assessment and engaging with your security partner(s) is an essential part of managing changes in the working routines of your business. A slight change in setup can ensure you and your staff enjoy your festive break in the knowledge that your security measures are fit for purpose.
By ensuring staff can quickly summon help in any scenario, businesses can protect employees, maintain operational safety, and demonstrate a commitment to workforce wellbeing – even during the quietest weeks of the year.
About Securitas UK
Securitas is a world-leading safety and security solutions partner that helps make your world a safer place. Almost nine decades of deep experience means we see what others miss. By leveraging technology in partnership with our clients, combined with an innovative, holistic approach, we are transforming the security industry. With 341,000 employees in 44 markets, we see a different world and create sustainable value for our clients by protecting what matters most – their people and assets.