The Fire Safety Act 2021 was created as an outcome of the 2017 Grenfell tragedy, to ensure exterior walls were checked for multi-tenancy residential properties along with its structure and fire doors. After receiving Royal Assent in April 2021, the Act has resulted in four different variations of fire safety regulations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Whilst the changes relate to residential blocks, commercial property owners and managers across the UK may also see additional requirements as a result. Ark Workplace Risk is on hand to highlight what the changes could mean for commercial property across the UK.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 effectively amends the scope of the existing Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005 covering England and Wales. The law, which has been commenced in Wales is designed to ensure that domestic, multi-tenancy properties are sufficiently regulated, to avoid another Grenfell. However, we are already seeing that the changes can impact commercial property with, for example greater pressure from other parties including insurers and fire and rescue authorities looking for improvements in commercial properties including issues relating to the external walls and structural safety.
This means that commercial property owners and managers will most likely need to consider:
The changes may seem subtle but could have a significant impact on each commercial property. Subtle changes may seem minor, yet the costs and the risk to your business are infinite.
The approach to the various devolved parliaments across the UK means that commercial property owners will need to navigate further updates outside of the Fire Safety Act across the various territories as they emerge. For example, the Welsh Senedd have decided to adopt different sprinkler standards to those in England and have also adopted different height requirements and restrictions.
Once the new regulations and standards come into effect, your property must comply with the various requirements or you risk a fine, prosecution and even imprisonment. Employers and those in control of commercial properties must complete an up-to-date fire risk assessment, no matter what territory the property is in, but the scope of the assessment may be different.
At Ark Workplace Risk, we understand that undertaking additional checks on commercial property may impact budgets. However, the earlier building assessments are conducted, the lower the cost and risk involved with implementing these changes - if any are in fact needed.
In fact, ignoring these changes now can impact your business at any point in the future.
In June this year following the hearing at Southampton Crown Court a fire risk assessor was fined £20,000 and costs of £19,952 following the provision of an insufficient fire risk assessment, whilst the managing agent for the premises was fined £10,000 with £6,000 costs for allowing such assessment to be undertaken. In addition, the individual manager specifically responsible for the premises was given a conditional discharge and £1,800 costs. Issues such as poor compartmentation and fire stopping had been missed and when found, insufficient action was taken to remedy the breaches.
Protect your business now to avoid hidden costs, damage to your reputation, and ultimately, the risk of another great tragedy.
With so many changes in regulation and guidance being issued in respect of fire safety, it is hard to know what your current or future gap to compliance is. The changes are subtle yet could leave commercial property owners exposed. To avoid risk and ensure value for money, hiring an experienced compliance and workplace risk assessor can help you navigate these changes at a reduced cost.
Should you wish to read about these changes in greater detail, the full bill as it applies to England and Wales is available here.
Working with an experienced risk assessor like Ark Workplace Risk can help reduce costs by:
At Ark Workplace Risk, we understand how to protect your budgets while protecting you and your employees from unforeseen tragedy and risk.
with one of our safety experts today for more advice on how to protect your business.