When do I need a Fire Risk Assessment in Manchester?

12 Jun

One of the most common questions we get is “Do I need a fire risk assessment?” This is particularly a common question from our clients for fire risk assessments in Manchester and Salford who have small businesses.

Since 2005, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, Article 9 (RRFSO) has stipulated that,

“The responsible person must make a “suitable and sufficient” assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed for the purpose of identifying the ‘General fire precautions’ he needs to take to comply …. with the order. Article 9 went on to state that as soon as practicable after the assessment is made or reviewed, the responsible person must record the information…’where he employs five or more employees.’

The Building Safety Act 2022, particularly section 156 (which came into force in 2023) contains amendments to the RRFSO and removed ’where he employs five or more employees.’ It also stipulates that all fire risk assessments should be written down and that amongst other stipulations, all findings rather than just significant findings must be recorded. There are also legal requirements for all Responsible Persons in a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises to provide residents with fire safety information in a format that is readily understandable by the residents.

Our experience is that a lot of small businesses still do not know about the legislative changes and often, they believe a written fire risk assessment is not a legal requirement for them as they have less than 5 employees. This is readily understandable as there is still a lot of prominent but outdated content throughout the internet suggesting 5 employees as a threshold. The fact is they will almost certainly be required to record a fire risk assessment in full, regardless of the size or purpose of their business or premises.

Beyond the legal and many will argue, moral duty, our clients often discover that if they do not have a valid fire risk assessment or proper fire safety precautions at their workplace, then their commercial insurances may be invalidated if fire caused damage to property and or injury to employees and visitors. Quite simply, if a breach, non-disclosure or failure to adhere to the law is material to the loss or contributes to the extent of the loss, the provision of indemnity under the policy may come into question.

Who's responsible?

You’re responsible for fire safety in business or other non-domestic premises if you’re:

· an employer

· the owner

· the landlord

· an occupier

· anyone else with control of the premises, for example a facilities manager, building manager, managing agent or risk assessor

You’re known as the ‘responsible person’. If there’s more than one responsible person, you have to work together to meet your responsibilities.

The Fire Safety Order also applies if you have paying guests, for example if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property.

Non-domestic premises

Non-domestic premises are:

· all workplaces and commercial premises

· all premises the public have access to

· the common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings

Shared premises

In shared premises it’s likely there’ll be more than one responsible person. You’ll need to co-ordinate your fire safety plans to make sure people on or around the premises are safe.

For common or shared areas, the responsible person is the landlord, freeholder or managing agent.

For an immediate fire risk assessment quotation for your business or HMO in Bolton, Bury, Horwich or Westhoughton, please call