Health and Safety Legislation & Village Halls

Health and Safety legislation relates to all employers and so directly affects village halls that pay a caretaker, cleaner etc. The legislation also means that the village hall committee has a duty of care to all users of the hall, volunteers, visitors, hirer and contractors.

The hall should have:-

• Health and Safety policy documents
• Accident book
• Hiring agreement which includes the health and safety policy and fire evacuation procedures
• Notice of fire evacuation procedure (agreed with the fire brigade
• Fire safety certificate if the Fire Brigade agree that this is necessary
• Insurance documents
• Electrical and Gas safety certificates
• Reporting of accidents, disease and dangerous occurrences regulations

The hall should also have an up to date list of contacts from which expert advice and guidance can be obtained. These include:-

• Health and Safety Executive
• Main Office 01342 334200
• Publications 01787 881165
• Environmental Health Officers at District or Borough Council
• Fire Brigade
• Local Citizens Advice Bureau
• Surrey Community Action - 01483 459292 x225

It would be advisable for the village hall committee to nominate one member as Safety Officer and that person should be responsible for all health and safety issues.

Testing of Portable Electrical Equipment in Village Halls

Just as the Health & Safety at work Act 1974 applies to Village Halls whether or not they employ anyone because Village Halls admit the public to their premises, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 also apply. The Regulations aim to ensure that the electrical systems are constructed, maintained and used in a manner so as to prevent danger and that the user of portable electrical appliances are protected from electric shock and fire hazard.

The definition of "portable electrical equipment" is generally equipment that has a lead and plug and which is normally moved around or can easily be moved from place to place. eg. floor cleaners, kettles, urns, heaters, fans, televisions and table lights. It also includes equipment that could be moved such as fridges, photocopiers, desk top computers and microwave ovens. It is recognised by the Health and Safety Executive that some environments are high risk and some low risk and Village Halls are generally considered to be low-risk. In most cases the H & S Executive advice on maintaining portable electrical equipment in low-risk environments applies.

In summary the Health & Safety Executive makes the following points:

• The law requires portable electrical equipment to be properly maintained. In a low risk environments this does not require an elaborate or vigorous system of frequent electrical testing.
• By concentrating on a simple inexpensive system of looking for visible signs of damage or fault you will control most of the electrical risk.

It is not necessary to employ an electrician to carry out visual checks of equipment. Appoint a member of the management committee to be the "competent person" to carry out a visual check on all portable equipment every 6 to 12 months. To be recognised as "competent" in this context a person just has to be sensible, has to know what to look for and what to do, and should have enough common sense to be able to avoid danger to themselves and others. For example they must understand that they should switch off and unplug equipment before looking it over.

Surrey Community Action has a short document which clearly states the procedure to follow and a sample appliance testing log. For further information please click here.