Quick answer
Identify who controls the premises, activities and shared systems, then agree how duties and work will be coordinated. Each employer retains its relevant responsibilities. A lease or service contract should support clear arrangements rather than being treated as proof that all safety duties belong to someone else.
Why responsibility follows more than the company name on a lease
A landlord may control shared access while a tenant controls equipment and staff activity. HSE’s workplace welfare ACOP addresses duties according to the relevant workplace responsibilities and control.
Clarify the arrangements before a defect occurs. Contractual maintenance terms matter, but they do not by themselves establish that every employer’s statutory duties have disappeared.
Map the activity, system and practical owner
| Area | What to clarify |
|---|---|
| Tenant’s work | Who assesses tasks, trains people and manages equipment and substances? |
| Building and common areas | Who controls access, repairs and relevant premises maintenance? |
| Shared fire or other systems | Who tests, maintains, reports defects and communicates changes? |
| Contractors and alterations | Who authorises work and coordinates effects on other occupiers? |
| Defects and emergencies | Who responds, who decides interim safeguards and how are others told? |
For each item, record the contact, authority, evidence and escalation route as well as the name of a service provider.
Exchange information and coordinate the measures
HSE’s shared-workplace guidance explains cooperation, coordination and risk information. GB management regulation 11 includes relevant shared arrangements involving employers and self-employed people.
Tell others about work that could affect them, such as deliveries, chemical use or maintenance. Obtain information about their work where it affects your people. A noticeboard alone may not coordinate a changing activity.
Coordinate the applicable fire and national arrangements
Where fire responsibilities overlap, use the England/Wales responsible-person guidance or the appropriate separate national framework. Check how alarms, routes, assistance and system defects are managed across occupiers.
For NI, HSENI’s communication guidance addresses shared-workplace cooperation and the exchange of information. Use the NI legislation and suitable advice for a specific allocation dispute.
Example: an adjoining business changes a shared route
A tenant learns that work by another occupier may affect a common escape or delivery route. The businesses and the person controlling the common area review the effect, agree suitable arrangements and communicate them to the affected teams.
The action record identifies who restores the normal route and confirms completion. The tenant does not ignore the risk simply because another party commissioned the work.
Common gaps
- No contact for urgent defects outside office hours.
- Responsibility discussed only after an incident.
- Shared-system checks assumed but no evidence available.
- Alterations made without informing other occupiers.
Next steps
Review the lease and service arrangements alongside actual control and applicable duties. Agree a responsibility and contact matrix, then test it with a shared-system defect or out-of-hours scenario.
Read HSE’s shared-workplace guidance — Cooperation and control need to be mapped to the actual premises; a disputed contractual or legal allocation requires suitable advice.