Who is Responsible for
Health and Safety at an Event

When you are planning an event Health and Safety should be one of your priorities, this isn’t just for the guests attending but also for the event organising team, temporary staff and suppliers.

The event organiser/owner  is responsible for the overall events health and safety, Venues will also be responsible for health and safety in their venue, suppliers should also be responsible for their own health and safety whilst they are working at the event. With all these different levels of responsibility overlapping it can become a bit confusing and some really important procedures may be missed, so it’s important to understand what health and safety requirements there are at an event and make sure all those working on the event are aware of the health and safety requirements and procedures.

Here are some main points to consider when planning an event.

The venue, picking your venue with the team and attendee’s safety in mind is essential, this can mean making sure the venue has their own health and safety procedures, ensuring the venue is the right size for the event and that there is enough time to setup and close down the event. The venue has a responsibility to delivery a safe environment for the event, but you need to make sure that the provisions match the event and you know who will be responsible for this onsite at the event.

Some Important questions to ask

Does the venue or suppliers have their own health and safety plans and what are they?

All venues should have have this and it is essential to find this out before the event.

Who is responsible for what aspect of the Event Health and Safety?

Event organisers also need to make sure any health and safety requirements are carried out at the event, it is also important for the event managers who are planning and running the event on the day to understand the health and safety regulations and ensure this is being carried out on the day.

Does the event staff understand theses requirements?

Briefing staff at the event whether they are staff provided by the organisers or temporary staff there for the event days, they need to understand any regulations that will affect them.

Safety onsite, is there enough provisions for potential issues? i.e cables trailing across the floor, trip hazard

It’s always good to have a plan, but executing that plan doesn’t always happen as expected so ensuring that any potential issues are included in that plan are important, this can include anything from small potential hazards to larger hazards.

What type of security does your event require?

For certain types of events, i.e live music events, festivals, outdoor events, race events, or events with a security risk you will likely need to have addittional events security/safety provisions at the event to ensure the event can run smoothly, but it’s important to establish this when you start planning the event and whether you need this so that you can work with them before the event to get the right provisions in place, typically venues will have some security or the ability to be able to supply security so also ways check first to see what security is available whatever the event.