Emergency/unexpected closure or altering of operations at an RPO

Home The RPO Portal RPO Guide Part 1 - Getting started 5. Contractual obligations for site managers and CEOs c. Business changes reporting Emergency/unexpected closure or altering of operations at an RPO

Emergency/temporary closure definition 

We understand that some situations outside of your control may prevent you from opening your Refund Point, these are:

**Force Majeure Event as defined in the Refund Point Agreement (see below)

Severe weather warning or severe weather episode such as cyclone, torrential and heavy rain, bush fire, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds etc.

Safety Risks such as COVID 19 exposure/risk, fire warnings, facility damage, extreme heat, vehicle & trailer issues (in the case of Pop-up Refund Points), smoke and other pollution etc.

Severe Staff shortage: Staff absenteeism impacting your ability to safely operate your refund point to the required standard. You must make all reasonable attempts to find replacement staff.

One-time events such as road closures, power outage, crime scene, threats etc

Any closure requests outside this list must be sent or discussed with your Contract Manager before being submitted.

** Force Majeure – what is it? 

In the Refund Point Agreement, Force Majeure Events means acts of God, fire, storm, flood, earthquake, explosion, accident, acts of the public enemy, war, rebellion, insurrection, sabotage, epidemic, quarantine restrictions, interruption or failure of electricity services and industrial action (except industrial action which only affects the Operator).

Temporary altering of normal operations definition 

Similarly, some situations outside of your control and influence may require you to temporarily alter your operations (machine broke down, road work changing access to your site, cash unavailable, weather conditions etc)

What to do?  

In any case, if an event is impacting your refund point operations, you must

  • notify WARRRL as soon as practicable. This allows us to update the website (if necessary) and inform the help desk so they can manage potential customer calls.

  • take reasonable measures to mitigate any impact that are within your control and work towards going back to your normal operations as soon as possible.

How to notify WARRRL 

Steps

Details

  1. Go to your main business email and create a new email

It is important the email comes from your main business email so the Help desk can recognize it and know the request is genuine.

  1. Add [email protected]  (this is the Help Desk email) and your Regional Manager into the recipient field

An email (to both the Help desk and your Regional manager) is the preferred way of communicating a closure or issue as it allows us to be very reactive and update our website.

Although, if you are unable to send an email, please call your Regional Manager as soon as possible. 

  1. Set the subject as : URGENT – Closure/change in operations + your organisation’s name.

Your email (or call) must contain the following details:

  • Organisation name

  • Affected site(s) name(s)

  • Brief summary of the issue: site closure or alteration of operations (eg: cash machine down, no cash available ; road closure, access to the site from alternative route)

  • Indication on how long you expect to be closed or impacted (day and time)

  • Rectification measure(s) attempted to minimise the duration and impact on your operations

What happens next? 

  • After sending the email you should immediately receive a confirmation that your request has been received by the Help Desk

  • The Containers for Change website will be updated accordingly (if necessary) and the Help Desk team updated on the situation

  • You will receive a call from your Regional Manager as soon as practicable

Additional actions to take 

  • If safe to do so, put up physical sign on entry gate/entry door to advise customers of the closure/issue – including when it is expected to re-open/be fixed.

  • Update your own website and social media pages

  • If necessary, contact any impacted logistics provider to make alternative collection arrangements

  • Send updates to the Help Desk and your Regional Manager

  • If applicable, fill up an incident report

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