Venues urged to ensure outdoor electrical equipment is safe

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) says venues, such as pubs with beer gardens, should arrange for a competent person to carry out electrical installation work. It said venues should only use lights and heaters specifically designed for outdoor use and regularly checking equipment for damage or water ingress.

Zoe Betts of Pinsent Masons said: “Employers have a duty to ensure the safety and health of their employees and others affected by their work insofar as reasonably practicable. Fixed installation and electrical appliances should be maintained in accordance with the 1989 Electricity at Work Regulations.”

HSE said it is working with the hospitality industry and local authority enforcement officers to increase awareness of safety standards. The announcement comes after a seven-year-old boy was electrocuted in an outdoor area of a pub in Essex in 2018. Harvey Tyrrell died after touching unsafe lighting equipment that had been set up in the pub garden.

The owner of the pub pleaded guilty to Harvey’s manslaughter, and to stealing electricity from an unmetered supply, and was jailed for nine years in 2021. Harvey’s mother, Danielle Jones, urged venues to act responsibly. “I’m still hearing of other incidents involving unsafe electrics in pubs and this needs to stop – I don’t want any other family to go through what happened to us,” she said.

“As summer gets underway, hospitality venues in particular should take note of what can be the catastrophic consequences of failure. Lighting and heating installations outdoors are popular additions in many venues, but care must be taken to ensure they are fit for purpose and properly maintained. Risk assessments must be updated and must take into account potential activities by more vulnerable customers, including children,” Betts said.

Hannah Burton of Pinsent Masons added: “Outside areas are an extension of the main building, so all precautions, risk assessments etc that are considered for internal building need to be extended for the outside.”