Hospitality businesses in Arun urged to make crucial electrical safety checks

Arun District Council will be working with the hospitality sector to raise awareness of electrical safety in their outdoor spaces.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 requires that any electrical equipment which has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition.

Owners or managers of businesses such as pubs, restaurants, cafés and hotels have a responsibility to ensure their outside spaces are safe, this includes outdoor lighting, heating and speakers.

We want to ensure checks have been made for when the public start to make the most of the warmer weather.

The importance of electric safety checks was highlighted following the heartbreaking and avoidable death of a seven-year-old boy in September 2018, who died after being electrocuted in a pub beer garden in Essex.

The young boy touched unsafe lighting that resulted in an electric shock that tragically killed him. The owner of the pub has since been prosecuted and jailed for nine years for manslaughter.

A leaflet is to be distributed to all smaller hospitality businesses in the Arun district providing advice on:

• managing electrical risks in outdoor areas
• explaining responsibilities
• how to ensure outdoor equipment is safe, and
• an electrical safety checklist

Environmental Health officers will be carrying out targeted follow-up visits later in the year in the hospitality sector, where the focus will be on electrical safety.

We are also reminding businesses that certain work-related accidents, are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). For example, if an employee is seriously injured at work or a member of the public is taken to hospital and receives treatment for their injury because of a work-related incident at a venue, a report will need to be made under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

Councillor Sue Wallsgrove, Chair of the Environment Committee at Arun District Council, said:

“As the tragic case of the boy who died in Essex after touching unsafe lighting in a pub garden shows, properly maintained electrical installations and equipment are vital to keep customers and employees safe.

“With warmer weather just around the corner and bringing with it more visits to the wonderful gardens and outdoor spaces many of our pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels have, we are launching this campaign now to support the hospitality sector in Arun to help them reduce the risk of further tragedies. These are simple checks that all businesses should take to ensure their electrics are safe.”

For any queries in relation to these checks, please contact Arun District Council’s Environmental team on 01903 727755 or email: health.safety@arun.gov.uk.