It must be noted that due to the nature of the undertaking, nightclub and late night bar operators have a significant potential for claims from staff for work related noise induced deafness.

During our ongoing Risk Management work with our clients, we have experienced noise levels in some clubs which present a risk of harm to hearing if a member of staff is exposed for more than 3mins 45secs, and in fact one club recently visited had levels of 110dB at opening thus presenting staff to harmful levels after just 1min 50secs!!!

If you need further information on this matter or any other health and safety related matter please feel free to contact us on 0113 281 8110 and we will be happy to speak with you.

Pulicana Ltd has been fined £5000 for each of four offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In light of the company's early guilty plea, however, the total fine was reduced to £15,000. Publicana was also ordered to pay the prosecution's costs. The offences came to light after Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service attended an incident at the Little George pub in New Road, Chippenham on 5 October 2008.

An investigation by officers from the Service’s technical fire safety department discovered that fire doors and fire exits had been screwed shut, or left propped open, escape routes were obstructed, and fire-protection systems had not been maintained. Consequently, Publicana Ltd – as the tenant at that time – was charged with failing to carry out or record a fire risk assessment, and failure to have effective protection policies and prevention measures in place.

So what is a Fire Risk Assessment?

A fire risk assessment takes into account a number of factors including the construction of the building, the fire compartmentation, how you manage fire safety in the building, how you manage the occupants safety and effective evacuation, the fire systems in place (extinguishers, alarms, emergency lighting, fire policy etc).

Why do you need to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment?

You need to conduct a fire risk assessment for several reasons:

To comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

To ensure you do not harm or injure anyone in the event of a fire.

To reduce the possibility of a fire to the absolute practical minimum.

Again fire risk assessments are another area that we can assist you with, please feel free to contact us on 0113 281 8110 and we will be happy to speak with you.

For more information on any of NDML'S Services please contact:
Victoria Romero-Trigo on 0113 2818110.

or visit our website