What and who is a ‘responsible person’?
A responsible person (RP) is the person or organisation that has control of the premises and is responsible for fire safety in your business or non-domestic building.
Non-domestic buildings are:
- workplaces and commercial premises
- premises the public have access to
- common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings
- shared premises
If you are the employer, owner, landlord, occupier, building manager, managing agent or anyone else with control of a business or non-domestic premises, you are known as the ‘responsible person’ (RP).
An RP may be an individual or an organisation and if there’s more than one responsible person, they must collaborate and work together to meet their responsibilities.
Your responsibilities, as a responsible person are:
- Conduct and record regular fire risk assessments and update them as needed
- Inform your staff or their representatives about the identified risks
- Implement and maintain appropriate fire safety measures
- Have an emergency plan in place
- Provide staff with necessary fire safety information, instruction and training
You can read about how to keep your premises safe from fire by visiting Fire safety: guidance for those with legal duties – GOV.UK