Information on health and safety management at events organised in england

Dear Client,

In order to correctly identify the applicable health and safety obligations, it is necessary to distinguish between two different situations:

the organisation directly organises the event, employing staff and appointing and paying suppliers;
the organisation is only a sponsor or host entity, while the event is organised by a third party.

The general legal framework applicable in England is set out in the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Before examining the two scenarios, it is useful to distinguish between:

Health and Safety: management of accidental risks affecting workers, suppliers, guests and the public;
Security: management of access and prevention of assaults, disorder, deliberate acts and other intentional threats.

The two areas must be coordinated, but this information note mainly concerns Health and Safety management.

1. The organisation directly organises the event

The organisation assumes the role of organiser when:

it employs or appoints the personnel;
it directly selects and pays the suppliers;
it determines how the event is to be carried out;
it retains operational control over the activities and the premises.

In this case, the organisation is responsible for the overall management of safety during the set-up, running and dismantling of the event. Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 require the employer, so far as is reasonably practicable, to protect both its own workers and other persons who may be exposed to risks arising from its activities. The main duties of the organising entity are

A. prepare the event Risk Assessment and, where necessary, the related Method Statement;
B. check and coordinate suppliers;
C. prepare the Emergency Plan and coordinate it with the venue’s Evacuation Plan;
D. provide information and training to personnel.

The organisation may appoint a consultant or an Event Safety Manager, but it remains responsible for ensuring that event safety is adequately planned and managed.

A. Risk assessment and method statement

Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks.

The Risk Assessment must be prepared before the event and must also cover set-up and dismantling activities. It must identify at least:

the persons who may be exposed;
the significant risks;
the measures implemented;
any further actions required and the persons responsible for them.

Where the employer employs five or more employees, the significant findings must be recorded in writing.

For complex, non-routine activities or activities involving significant risks, a Method Statement may also be prepared. This describes, in an operational and sequential manner, how the work is to be carried out safely by applying the measures identified in the Risk Assessment. A Method Statement is not generally a statutory requirement, but is recognised by the HSE as a useful tool for planning, communicating and controlling a safe system of work.

B. Supplier checks and coordination

The organiser must verify, in a manner proportionate to the activity being outsourced, that suppliers have the necessary competence, qualifications and resources.

This check may be formalised through a Self-Declaration of Conformity, by which the supplier declares, among other things, that the business is properly registered, that risks have been assessed, that equipment is compliant and that it accepts responsibility for its own workers. The attached template also provides for the submission of the main supporting documents.

The Self-Declaration is not a form expressly required by the 1999 Regulations, but it is a useful tool for documenting the supplier verification process.

Regulations 11 and 12 also require the different employers to:

cooperate and coordinate their respective activities;
exchange information on risks;
communicate the venue rules and procedures to external workers.

C. Emergency plan and evacuation plan

The organiser must prepare an Emergency Plan proportionate to the characteristics of the event, indicating at least:

who manages the emergency and raises the alarm;
who contacts the emergency services;
how staff and the public are informed and evacuated.

Regulation 8 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 sets out the procedures to be adopted in the event of serious and imminent danger.

The Emergency Plan must be coordinated with the venue’s Evacuation Plan, which must identify the escape routes, emergency exits, assembly point and alarm system.

D. Training and information

Under Regulations 10 and 13, the organisation must ensure that personnel receive adequate information, instruction and training.

Before the event, assigned duties, venue rules, key contacts and emergency and evacuation procedures must be communicated.

Suppliers remain responsible for the training of their own workers. The organiser must instead provide the specific information relating to the event and the workplace.

2. the organisation is only a sponsor or host entity

Where a third party employs the personnel, selects and pays the suppliers and manages the event operationally, that third party assumes the role of organiser.

The following therefore fall within the third party’s responsibilities:

the event Risk Assessment;
supplier checks and coordination;
staff training;
preparation of the Emergency Plan;
operational control of the event.

The mere role of sponsor, in the absence of actual organisational or control powers, does not automatically entail the responsibilities of the organiser.

Where the event takes place on the organisation’s premises, however, the host entity retains the duties relating to the premises and conditions under its control, pursuant to Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The host entity must therefore:

communicate the risks, rules and limitations of the venue;
provide the Evacuation Plan, indicating escape routes, exits, alarm system and assembly point;
obtain the event Risk Assessment and verify its compatibility with the premises;
coordinate with the organiser where the set-up modifies the premises or the escape routes.

The host entity is not required to directly assess or qualify suppliers selected and managed by the third party, unless it participates in their selection or actually assumes control of the activities.

It must nevertheless cooperate with the organiser and provide all safety information relating to the premises, in accordance with Regulations 11 and 12 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Framinia Health and Safety LTD is at your complete disposal for any further information or clarification regarding the matters covered in this document.

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