# Fire risk assessment for a pub or restaurant: the five GOV.UK steps, the written record and a staff training check worked for twelve people

> Who is the responsible person for a pub or restaurant fire risk assessment? GOV.UK sets five steps, a written record and training. Worked for 12 staff.

- Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/fire-risk-assessment-pub-restaurant-five-steps-written-record-training-checks-twelve-staff-worked/
- Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/)
- Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Allergens, licensing and rates
- Published 22 October 2026
- Key fact: For a team of 12, two training records each (a fire induction date and a last evacuation drill date) is 12 x 2 = 24 records. If a check of the staff files finds 17, then 24 - 17 = 7 are missing, which is 7 / 24 = 29.2% of the records. If the 4 starters in the last year account for 5 of the 7 gaps, the other 2 gaps sit with 8 longer-serving staff.
- Sources: GOV.UK, Fire safety in the workplace: your responsibilities (www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities) and Fire risk assessments (www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-risk-assessments): the responsible person, the duty to carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment and keep a written record, the five steps, staff information, instruction and training, and enforcement by the fire and rescue authority. Read 22 October 2026.

Every pub and restaurant has a fire risk assessment duty, whether the owner has thought about it or not. The practical questions are who holds the duty, what the assessment has to include, and whether the training part is done for every person on the rota, not just the manager.

## What GOV.UK says

The two GOV.UK pages set out these points:

- The **responsible person** is anyone with control of non-domestic premises: employers, owners, landlords, occupiers, and others such as facilities or building managers. Where there is more than one, they must work together. In a tenanted pub that can mean both tenant and pub company, so ask who has the duty under the lease.
- The responsible person must **carry out and regularly review** a fire risk assessment of the premises, and **keep a written record** of it.
- They must also put in place and maintain appropriate fire safety measures, plan for an emergency, and give staff **information, fire safety instruction and training**.
- The page lists **five steps**: identify the fire hazards; identify people at risk; evaluate, remove or reduce the risks; record your findings, prepare an emergency plan and provide training; review and update the assessment regularly.
- Things to consider include emergency routes and exits, fire detection and warning, firefighting equipment, storing dangerous substances safely, an evacuation plan, and the needs of vulnerable people such as older people, young children and disabled people.
- You can do the assessment yourself with the standard guides, or appoint a competent person such as a professional risk assessor. The local fire and rescue authority can advise but cannot carry out the assessment for you.
- The page says you could be fined or go to prison if you do not follow the regulations. It gives no amounts. Fire and rescue authorities can inspect and issue fire safety notices setting out changes you must make.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

## The training check, worked for twelve staff

The page asks for training and a written record but does not say how to prove the two together. A simple check is to count the records your own files should hold. In this example the team is 12, and each person should have two dated records: a **fire induction** and a **last evacuation drill**. (Two records per person is my choice for the check, not a GOV.UK figure.)

| Group | People | Records expected | Records found | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters in the last year | 4 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| Longer-serving staff | 8 | 16 | 14 | 2 |
| Whole team | 12 | 24 | 17 | 7 |

Checks on the table: 4 x 2 = 8 and 8 x 2 = 16; 8 + 16 = 24; 3 + 14 = 17; 24 - 17 = 7; 5 + 2 = 7. The share missing is 7 / 24 = 29.2%. Most of the gap is in new starters (5 of 8 records missing, 62.5%), which is the usual pattern: the induction slips in a busy first week. The figures are illustrative; run the same count on your real files.

## Where owners slip up

- **Treating it as a one-off.** The page says to review regularly. It gives no fixed interval, so write down your own trigger: a refit, a new kitchen layout, a change in capacity, an incident.
- **No record.** The assessment must be written down, not held in the manager's head.
- **Seasonal staff.** Temporary Christmas staff need the same instruction as permanent ones; see the [Christmas trading checklist](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/christmas-trading-checklist-pub-restaurant/).
- **Starters.** Put the fire induction on the [new starter checklist](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/), dated.
- **Counting only fire.** If you host big nights, the headcount rules in [Martyn's Law](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/martyns-law-pub-restaurant-200-people-headcount-standard-tier/) are a separate duty.

## What I did not read

I did not read the sector guide for restaurants and catering, or the one for pubs and nightclubs, so I give no rules on extinguisher numbers, alarm types, emergency lighting, the evacuation plan's content or how often to run a drill. I did not read the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 itself, the penalty provisions or the rules for premises with sleeping accommodation.

Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your pub or restaurant team and take the job of keeping the fire paperwork current: they check the staff files for missing inductions and drill dates, draft the reminders and the review note, and a person approves each one.

This is general information, not legal or fire safety advice. Check the GOV.UK pages and speak to your fire and rescue authority or a competent assessor.

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General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.