Emergency lighting is a legal safety requirement. It is therefore important for businesses and building managers to think about who is responsible for their emergency lighting. This can often become a confusing subject when multiple parties are involved in a building.
Here, we look at the responsibility for emergency lighting, focusing on legal duties as well as practical obligations.
Who is legally responsible for emergency lighting?
The legal responsibility for emergency lighting sits with the Responsible Person rather than contractors or installers. The Responsible Person is an individual or organisation that has control of the premises and how the building is used and maintained.
It is important to remember that installing or maintaining emergency lighting does not transfer responsibility and so contractors need to support compliance but are not required to own the legal duty.
Who is the responsible person in different situations?
Landlords and tenants
The responsibility for a building depends on the control of the building and not just the ownership. Landlords are usually responsible for communal areas and tenants tend to be responsible for the areas that they occupy and control. Leases can clarify these responsibilities, but legal accountability cannot be ignored.
Multi-occupancy and shared buildings
Common stairwells, corridors and exits fall to the landlord or managing agent. However, individual units will remain under the responsibility of the occupier. This can be a common source of emergency lighting responsibility confusion.
Employers and duty holders
Employers are responsible for emergency lighting in the workplaces that they control. As emergency lighting is required to enable employees to safely find escape routes during a power failure or emergency, then the employer must be responsible for ensuring it works.
Managing agents and facilities managers
Managing agents may manage compliance tasks, but the legal responsibility will still sit with the Responsible Person. This can help to prevent any misplaced reliance on third parties.
What does emergency lighting responsibility actually involve?
The responsibility for emergency lighting ensures that it is appropriate for the premises and that it will operate during a power failure. There needs to be routine functional testing as well as periodic full duration testing. The responsibility for this lighting includes keeping accurate test records and acting promptly on the discovery of faults or failures.
Emergency lighting standards and regulations explained simply
BS 5266 is the recognised standard for emergency lighting, and provides guidance on design, testing and maintenance. This helps to support compliance with broader fire safety duties. These standards are what inspectors will expect systems to follow and act as a benchmark for demonstrating compliance.
Inspections, enforcement and compliance risk
Inspectors will typically look for operational emergency lighting and evidence of regular testing through up-to-date records. Non-compliance will often be a result of poor maintenance or missing documentation and so most issues are avoidable with consistent oversight. The consequences of non-compliance include enforcement action and improvement notices.
Common emergency lighting pain points
One of the biggest pain points can be the unclear responsibility between parties, as well as incomplete or missing test records. There are sometimes older systems that no longer meet current standards and conflicting advice from contractors that needs to be navigated. It is important to remember that these are practical problems that can be solved and not complete failures.
Why many organisations use professional support
Emergency lighting is often outsourced as regular testing is a time-consuming process with easy to overlook record-keeping responsibilities. Professional oversight allows you to benefit from scheduled testing, accurate documentation, and early identification of faults.
How Actifire supports responsible persons
Actifire are specialists in regulated environments, and providers of ongoing compliance support. This means that they are a partner and not just an installer, helping Responsible Persons meet emergency lighting responsibilities. It is their role to support compliance over time instead of simply supplying one-off fixes.
The responsibility for emergency lighting sits with the person in control of the premises. It is clarity, testing and records that are central to compliance, and Actifire can help ensure you are fully covered.
Contact Us
If you would like guidance on your emergency lighting responsibilities or need support with inspections and testing, contact us to discuss how we can help keep your premises safe and compliant.
