Introduction to Fire Safety Management

3.4
Consultation with employees
The vast majority of safety legislation requires the provi-
sion of information to employees. The effectiveness of a 
safety culture relies heavily upon the quality and stand-
ard of the information provided.
If employees are to comply with systems of work to 
keep themselves and others safe specifi c information 
should be provided such as:
➤
The details of any risk assessment carried out, par-
ticularly the risks inherent with the facility or task by 
which they may be affected
➤
The control measures such as those that prevent 
staff and others being harmed and any appropriate 
protective measures
➤
The emergency procedures, whether for fi re, bomb 
threat, chemical spillage, asbestos release, etc.
➤
The names, roles and responsibilities of the compe-
tent persons, e.g. safety adviser, fi re wardens, fi rst 
aiders, etc.
The provision of information is generally seen as being 
a one-way mechanism by which the responsible per-
son and/or employer provides the details as above. 
However, to be successful in safety management and to 
comply with the law a prudent responsible person and/
or employer will establish a consultation process with 
employees and others.
Employee involvement supports a positive safety 
culture (see Chapter 4) where safety is everyone’s respon-
sibility and they feel ownership for safety matters. The 
best form of participation is a partnership, where workers 
and their representatives are involved in early consultation 
It may be the case that one of the employ-
ers sharing a premises has control over the 
premises. Such would be the situation when 
a small portion of a premises is sublet. In this 
case the person in control of the premises 
should take the lead role in ensuring ade-
quate fi re safety arrangements and exchange 
of health and safety information is managed 
adequately. When there is such a situation 
the subletters will need to assist the person 
in control of the premises.
Where there is no controlling employer the 
employers and self-employed people sharing 
a particular workplace will need to agree joint 
arrangements for discharging their duties 
under common statutory provisions. For 
example, they will all need access to compe-
tent safety advice and may achieve this com-
munally by appointing a safety coordinator.
Similarly the responsible person (e.g. a landlord) 
although they do not have employees on site will hold 
duties under section 4 of the HSWA for ensuring safe 
egress and access to common areas of the premise and 
those that fall under ‘landlord domain’. This will extend 
to ensure that effective emergency arrangements for all 
those on the premises are secured.
In terms of information relating to fi re safety matters, 
the responsible person, in addition to providing informa-
tion to employees, also has a duty under the RRFSO to 
provide relevant and complete information relating to both 
the risks and preventive and protective measures includ-
ing the emergency arrangements in the event of a fi re to:
➤
Persons working in their undertaking who are not 
employees and
➤
Employers and employees who share premises or 
may be affected by their activities.