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Fire Safety in the Workplace: Your Legal Responsibilities Explained

  • Writer: Katharina Schumacher
    Katharina Schumacher
  • 11 minutes ago
  • 8 min read

Every year, workplace fires cause injuries, destroy businesses and, in the worst cases, cost lives. Most of them are preventable. Getting fire safety right is about protecting the people who walk through your doors every day and keeping your business running.

If you own, manage or occupy a commercial premises in England or Wales, the law places clear fire safety duties on your shoulders.

This guide explains what those duties are, who holds them, how the law has changed in recent years and what you need to have in place to stay compliant and keep your people safe.



What Does Fire Safety in the Workplace Mean?


Fire safety in the workplace covers everything you do to prevent a fire starting, to limit its spread if one does and to get everyone out safely if the worst happens (preventive and protective).


In practical terms that means identifying what could start a fire, removing or reducing those risks, putting the right detection, warning and fire-fighting measures in place and making sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency.


It is a continuous process rather than a one-off task. Premises change, people change and risks change, so fire safety has to be managed and reviewed over time.


The Law: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005


The main piece of fire safety legislation for non-domestic premises in England and Wales is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, usually shortened to the Fire Safety Order or the FSO.

The Order applies to almost all workplaces and non-domestic premises, including:

  • Offices, shops, factories and warehouses.

  • Hotels, hostels and other premises providing sleeping accommodation.

  • Schools, hospitals, care homes and community buildings.

  • Restaurants, pubs, clubs and other places of assembly.

  • The common parts of blocks of flats and houses in multiple occupation...


It does not apply inside individual private homes.


Who is the Responsible Person?



At the heart of the Fire Safety Order is the "responsible person."

This is the person who holds the legal duties for fire safety. In a workplace, the responsible person is usually the employer, because they have control of the premises. It can also be the building owner, the landlord or an occupier, depending on who has control over the relevant part of the building. In buildings with more than one occupier, such as a shared office block or an industrial estate, there will often be several responsible persons at once.

Where that is the case, the law requires them to cooperate and coordinate with each other.


The responsible person cannot simply hand the legal duty to somebody else. You can appoint a competent adviser or consultant to help you carry out the work, and most businesses do, but the underlying legal responsibility stays with you.


How the Law Has Changed


Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the government carried out a major programme of fire safety reform in three phases. Even if you run a straightforward commercial premises, some of these changes affect you, so it is worth understanding what has moved.


Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that where a building contains two or more domestic premises, the responsible person's duties extend to the structure, external walls (including cladding and balconies) and individual flat entrance doors. This is most relevant to residential blocks, but it removed a long-standing grey area about what the Fire Safety Order actually covered.


Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023. These placed detailed new duties on responsible persons for multi-occupied residential buildings, particularly high-rise blocks, covering things like fire door checks, wayfinding signage, secure information boxes and sharing information with the fire and rescue service. They mainly affect residential buildings rather than typical workplaces, but they form part of the wider picture.


Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022

For businesses, this is the change that matters most. Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the relevant provisions came into force on 1 October 2023. The headline change is this:

every responsible person must now record their fire risk assessment in full, regardless of how many people they employ.


Under the old rules, only businesses with five or more employees had to keep a written record. That threshold is gone. Whether you employ two people or two hundred, you now need a written fire risk assessment and a written record of your fire safety arrangements.


Section 156 also introduced:

  • A duty to record the name of the individual or organisation carrying out or reviewing the assessment.

  • Stronger requirements for cooperation and coordination where more than one responsible person shares a building.

  • A duty to record and share fire safety information, including contact details, with other responsible persons and, in residential buildings, with residents.

  • A significant increase in penalties. The maximum fine for the most serious offences rose from a Level 3 fine (£1,000) to a Level 5 fine, which is unlimited.


The practical message is simple. Fire safety record-keeping is no longer optional for small businesses and the cost of getting it wrong has gone up sharply.


Your Core Fire Safety Responsibilities


So what does the responsible person actually have to do? The Fire Safety Order sets out a series of duties that, taken together, make up a workable fire safety regime.



1. Carry out a fire risk assessment. This is the foundation of everything else. A fire risk assessment identifies fire hazards, the people at risk and the measures needed to reduce that risk to an acceptable level. Our step-by-step guide to fire risk assessments walks through the process in detail.


2. Put general fire precautions in place. These are the measures that prevent fire and protect people, including detection and warning systems, fire-fighting equipment and safe means of escape.


3. Maintain safe escape routes. Escape routes and fire exits must be kept clear, clearly signed, adequately lit and available at all times. Blocked or locked exits are one of the most common and most dangerous failings we see. Our article on fire escape routes and how often to check them covers this in more depth.


4. Provide detection and warning. You need a means of detecting fire and warning everyone in the building, appropriate to the size and layout of your premises.


5. Provide fire-fighting equipment. Extinguishers and other equipment should be suitable for the risks present, properly maintained and accessible, with staff trained in their safe use.


6. Prepare an emergency plan. Everyone should know what to do if a fire breaks out, where to assemble and how the building will be evacuated, including arrangements for anyone who needs extra help to leave.


7. Provide information, instruction and training. All staff should receive fire safety training on induction and at regular intervals and you should appoint and train fire marshals to carry out specific duties.


8. Keep records and review. Record your assessment and arrangements, keep maintenance and testing records and review the assessment regularly and whenever something significant changes.


Fire Safety Training and Your Staff


In a real emergency, what protects people is whether they know what to do without having to think about it.



Every member of staff should understand how to raise the alarm, how to evacuate, where the assembly point is and why they should never go back into the building. Fire marshals need additional training so they can sweep their areas, help people evacuate, use fire-fighting equipment where it is safe to do so and liaise with the fire and rescue service. Fire drills, run at least once a year and more often in higher-risk premises, turn that training into something people can actually do under pressure.


Who Should Carry Out Your Fire Risk Assessment?


The Fire Safety Order requires that whoever carries out your fire risk assessment is "competent", meaning they have the training, experience and knowledge to do the job properly and to recognise when specialist advice is needed. For most organisations, appointing a professional fire risk assessor is the sensible route.


Competence in this area is being tightened. In August 2025, the British Standards Institution published BS 8674:2025, a framework for the competence of individual fire risk assessors. It sets out three levels, Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced, matched to the complexity and risk of the building being assessed. The government has also

confirmed it intends to make assessor competence a mandatory legal requirement.

The clear direction of travel is that the days of assuming anyone can carry out a fire risk assessment are coming to an end and choosing a genuinely competent assessor is now part of your responsibility as the responsible person.




Common Fire Safety Failures in the Workplace


In our work across offices, factories, warehouses and care settings, the same problems come up again and again:


  • Fire exits and escape routes blocked, locked or obstructed.

  • Fire doors wedged open or with damaged self-closing devices.

  • Fire alarms not tested or with inadequate coverage.

  • Extinguishers missing, wrong for the risk or out of date.

  • Staff who have never had fire safety training or taken part in a drill.

  • Poor housekeeping, with combustible waste allowed to build up.

  • A fire risk assessment that is out of date, incomplete or missing altogether.


None of these are difficult to fix. The problem is usually that nobody owns fire safety, so it drifts. A simple system of regular checks and clear responsibilities prevents almost all of them.


How We At DuoDynamic Safety Solutions Can Help


We help businesses across Yorkshire and the rest of the UK take the uncertainty out of fire safety. Our support includes:


  • Fire risk assessments carried out by competent assessors.

  • Fire safety training for staff and managers (also in form of videos).

  • Fire marshal training.

  • Ongoing support to keep your arrangements current as your business changes.


Whether you need a one-off fire risk assessment or a long-term partner to manage safety, we can help.



Frequently Asked Questions


Do small businesses need a written fire risk assessment?

Yes. Since 1 October 2023, every responsible person must record their fire risk assessment in full, regardless of how many people they employ.


Who is legally responsible for fire safety at work?

The "responsible person" under the Fire Safety Order. In most workplaces this is the employer, but it can also be the building owner, landlord or occupier, depending on who has control of the premises. In shared buildings there can be more than one responsible person and they must cooperate.


How often should a fire risk assessment be reviewed?

There is no fixed legal interval, but reviewing it at least annually is widely regarded as good practice. You should also review it immediately after any significant change to the premises, its use or occupancy or following a fire or near miss.


Key Takeaways


  • Fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales is governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

  • The "responsible person," usually the employer, holds the legal duties and cannot delegate them, though they can appoint help.

  • Since 1 October 2023, every business must record its fire risk assessment in full, whatever its size and penalties for serious breaches are now unlimited.

  • Core duties include a fire risk assessment, safe escape routes, detection and warning, fire-fighting equipment, an emergency plan, training and regular review.

  • Choosing a competent fire risk assessor is now part of your responsibility and competence standards are tightening.

  • A strong fire safety culture, backed by visible leadership, is what turns compliance into real protection.


Fire safety is one area where doing the basics well makes an enormous difference. If you are unsure whether your premises meet the current requirements, contact us for professional, straightforward support.


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