Same Building, Shared Duties

This guidance note has been prepared for the founders and managers of United Kingdom start-up and small or medium-sized enterprises who are establishing, operating or expanding their commercial premises. Obligations in this field are seldom confined to a single domain: what an employer owes to its staff, what an insurance policy in fact covers, what a lease requires of a landlord or tenant, and what applies when fit-out or maintenance work is commissioned, are all connected matters. It is in the gaps between these obligations that enforcement action and disputes most commonly arise.

This guidance note brings together three areas that a growing business is particularly liable to overlook. The first, employer, insurance and lease obligations, sets out the baseline statutory duties borne by every United Kingdom employer, the single insurance policy that the law in fact requires, and the manner in which responsibility for repair, insurance and fire safety is customarily divided between landlord and tenant. The second, employers with fewer than five employees, sets out what changes, and what does not, once an organisation's headcount is small. The third, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, explains why office fit-outs and certain maintenance and cleaning work fall within construction law, notwithstanding that they bear little resemblance to a construction site.

Each topic may be read independently, and each cites the specific legislation, regulation or guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive upon which it is founded, together with a date of last verification, since this is an area of law that is amended and consolidated with some regularity. This document is educational and operational in character; it does not constitute legal, financial or insurance advice, and organisations are advised to consult a solicitor, insurance broker or accountant before relying upon it in respect of a specific business, workplace or lease.

This checklist accompanies the guidance note Same Building, Shared Duties, and has been prepared for the founders and managers of small business tenants occupying a shared commercial office building. Its purpose is practical rather than explanatory: it is intended to be worked through during a compliance review, so that duties owed under employment law, insurance and the lease may be considered together, rather than in isolation.

The checklist is arranged in five parts, corresponding to the topics covered in the guidance note: employer obligations, insurance, lease obligations, provisions applicable to organisations with fewer than five employees, and matters arising where fit-out, refurbishment or maintenance work is undertaken. Each item includes a reference to the relevant legislation or source, so that a specific duty may be traced back to its origin where further detail is required.

This checklist is not exhaustive, and its completion does not of itself constitute compliance. It is intended to structure a review, not to replace one; organisations are advised to consult a solicitor, insurance broker or accountant to confirm a position that may be relied upon for their specific business, workplace or lease.